Lot 9

Private collection, Melbourne

Travelling to London in 1896, Portia Geach became the first Australian to win a tuition scholarship to the Royal Academy School, where she studied under influential and well-known British artists. Returning to Australia in 1900, she focused on figural studies, portraits and atmospheric landscapes.
Portia directed much of her life advocating for the rights of women in Australia after feeling the weight of difference between male and female artists.
After the artist's death in 1959, The Portia Geach Memorial Award was brought to fruition by her sister Florence. Often referred to as the female Archibald Prize, is Australia's most significant prize for Australian female portrait artists.

Hannah Ryan
Art Specialist