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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Myra Skipper, 1974

Carol Jerrems

gelatin silver photograph on paper (image: 20.2cm x 30.2cm. sheet: 40.5cm x 50.5cm. frame: 54.7cm x 74.2cm)
Myra Skipper, 1974

Jeweller and painter Myra Skipper (1917–1994) is photographed in her studio at Montsalvat, an artist community in Eltham, Melbourne. Behind her, canvases are stacked against the walls, anchoring the portrait in its subjects’ own creative practice. The lingering impression, however, is made by the light that bands across Skipper’s eyes, casting her upwards glance as a moment of dramatic poignancy or even inspiration. This portrait flirts with ideas of transcendence while still capturing a likeness.

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Gift of Mrs Joy Jerrems 1981.
© The Estate of Carol Jerrems

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Carol Jerrems: Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2024

Carol Jerrems: Portraits is a major exhibition of one of Australia’s most influential photographers. Jerrems’ intimate portraits of friends, lovers and artistic peers transcend the purely personal and have come to shape Australian visual culture.
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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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