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.
Elizabeth Jolley AO (1923-2007), writer, was born in England, and moved to Western Australia in 1959. She received immediate recognition with the publication of her story collection, Five Acre Virgin, in 1976. Henceforth, her stylistically distinctive examination of women's experience – through novels, radio plays and autobiography – attracted much interest from feminist scholars while also winning her a broad readership. The trilogy My Father's Moon, Cabin Fever and The Georges' Wife (1989–1993) is generally considered the high point of her work. Awarded three honorary doctorates, she won the Age Book of the Year Award twice, and the Miles Franklin Award for The Well (1986).
Mary Moore began formal art training in Perth at the age of fifteen and went on study at the Royal College of Art, London. She won the Portia Geach Memorial Award in 2001. This work, like many of Moore's paintings, is a parallel portrait, with the icons around the frame providing alternative and complementary representations of the sitter. The episodes and symbols of Jolley's life include a hedge of rosemary, windswept wheat fields, a nurse's uniform, Easter lilies, and tame geese. Moore worked from a photograph to paint this portrait, the composition and contents of which were largely decided by Jolley
Commissioned with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003
© Mary Moore
Basil P. Bressler (44 portraits supported)
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The considered matching of artist to subject has produced an amazing collection of unique and original works in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery
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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The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.
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