Marie Mansfield has been announced as the winner of the 2021 Portia Geach Memorial Award, the pre-eminent portraiture prize for women in Australia.
She will receive a $30,000 prize for her portrait entitled Anthea May or May Not, with her work to be displayed at the S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks.
On her portrait of artist Matilda Michell, Mansfield writes: ‘I have known the artist, Matilda Michell, for a few years (through working together). Matilda is so down to earth I wanted to capture her humour and laid back attitude. We had a ‘sitting’ for the portrait, and at the end she just relaxed into this open pose which captured her perfectly – unencumbered, open and natural in the moment.’
Marie Mansfield has a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication and has studied at the Julian Ashton Art School and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in painting at the National Art School, Sydney. She has previously been a finalist in many art awards including the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award and the Black Swan Portrait Prize.
First awarded in 1965, the Portia Geach Memorial Award was established by Florence Kate Geach in memory of her sister, artist Portia Geach who spent much of her life campaigning for the rights of women in Australia and was determined to make a living from painting. Geach was widely acclaimed as a leading artist and was a frequent commentator in the national media – making her an iconic figure in the Australian arts community.
Perpetual is trustee of the Award and as per the direction of the will, it is presented annually to an Australian female artist for the best portrait painted from life of a man or woman distinguished in art, letters or the sciences.
The judging panel included Anita Belgiorno-Nettis, Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Natalie Wilson, Curator of Australian and Pacific Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Jane Watters, Director, S.H Ervin Gallery. The panel commented: “This year’s finalists showed a diversity of approaches towards the genre of portrait painting, which at its best traditionally balances the central criteria of ‘likeness’ with the more formal qualities of painting. We also responded to a sense of painterly integrity and inventiveness used by many of the artists in capturing the presence of the subject. In the final judging, the task was made difficult due to the high standard of the finalists, and we would like to acknowledge the artists for their efforts in a very competitive year. The resilience demonstrated by the artists in this challenging year is encouraging and humbling.”
The judging panel selected 57 works from 475 entries received from female artists across Australia. On Mansfield’s portrait, they said: “It is distinguished by its uplifting sense of honesty and energy, as well as an integrity of form and content. Her work balances the skill of observation demanded by representation, with a painterly touch which is both suggestive and vigorous. The judges responded to the dynamism of the composition where the elevated position of the sitter’s arms is reminiscent of the central figures in Picasso’s groundbreaking painting Demoiselles d’Avignon.”
The judges also highly commended Jenny Rogerson for her self-portrait Standing in the green leather coat.
An exhibition of all finalists’ works is open for public viewing at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in The Rocks, Sydney, from Thursday 4 November until Sunday 19 December. Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11am-5pm