DISCOVERY TRAIL

PANTONE DS 68-1C

This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians; and by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.

National Collecting Institutions Touring & Outreach Program

Media Partner

National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund

Exhibition Partner

© National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2011

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For tour venues and dates, go to nga.gov.au/ausportraits

(cover image) Hugh Ramsay (1877–1906) Miss Nellie Patterson 1903 painted in Melbourne, Victoria oil on canvas, 122.3 x 92.2 cm National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1966

DISCOVERY TRAILFind each painting and look at the ways

the artists have painted the children

Find this picture of a baby.

The artist John Brack based this picture on his daughter

Charlotte.

Can you see the person holding the baby’s cup?

How can you tell the baby is concentrating?

John Brack’s Baby drinking

painted in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1955

Hugh Ramsay’s Miss Nellie Patterson

painted in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1903

In this portrait, Miss Nellie Patterson is 5 years old.

The artist Hugh Ramsay painted this portrait of Nellie for

her aunt Dame Nellie Melba, who was an opera singer.

Nellie’s dress was a gift from her famous aunt.

Look at all the details in the painting.

Describe what might have happened over the course of

nellies day.

In this portrait, John Perceval has painted himself as a boy.

The artist has used the boy and the cat to express his

feelings and memories from childhood.

Look at the way the boy is holding the cat.

Do you think he can let go?

John Perceval’s Boy with cat 2

painted in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1943

This is a picture of three girls at primary school.

The artist John Brack depicted three of his daughters.

Look at the girls’ faces and the flowers in their hands.

How has the artist made the girls look different?

What do you think that tells you about them and how they

get along?

John Brack’s The girls at school

painted in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1959

In this portrait, Elsie Brooks is 9 years old.

The artist E Philips Fox depicted Elsie’s rosy skin and the

delicate fabric of her dress.

Look at the brushstrokes and colours of the plants in the

background.

Look at the expression on her face, her pose and her dress.

Compare Elsie to the school girls in John Brack’s painting.

E Phillips Fox’s Elsie, daughter of HW Brooks, Esquire

painted in London, England, in 1904

In this portrait, Mary Boyd is 11 years old.

The artist Arthur Boyd was 17 years old when he painted

this portrait of his sister.

Look at Mary’s pose and expression.

What do you think she is thinking about?

Arthur Boyd’s Mary Boyd

painted at Open Country, in Murrumbeena,

Victoria, in 1937

Violet Teague’s The boy with the palette

painted in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1911

In this portrait, Theo Scharf is 12 years old.

The artist Voilet Teague painted this portrait of a serious

boy posed against a plain wall.

Can you see what he is holding?

How can you tell Theo is thinking about becoming an

artist?

Elise Blumann’s Charles, morning on the Swan

painted in Perth, Western Australia, in 1939

In this portrait, the boy is 15 years old.

The artist Elise Blumann painted a portrait of her son

Charles outdoors.

Look at the way the horizon line divides the painting into

two parts.

Can you see how the artist has shown Charles was a

dreamer?

Robert Dowling’s Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly)

painted in Colac and Melbourne, Victoria, in 1885–86

In this portrait, Dolly was 19 years old.

The artist Robert Dowling painted Dolly’s portrait in a

summer garden.

Look at the way she is dressed and at the things the artist

has included in the painting to tell us about Dolly.

Make up a story about her life.

USE THIS PAGE TO DRAW A PORTRAIT OF YOURSELF OR A FRIEND

Credit lines and copyright

All works in Australian portraits 1880–1960 are from the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, except for p.8.

Page 2: © Helen Brack

Page 6: © Estate of John Perceval. Licensed by Viscopy, 2010

Page 8: private collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. © Helen Brack

Page 12: the Arthur Boyd gift, 1975. Reproduced with permission of Bundanon Trust

Page 14: gift of US Teague, 1976

Page 18: acquired with the assistance of the Masterpieces for the Nation Fund, 2010

For more information on the exhibition and on tour venues and dates, go to nga.gov.au/ausportraits