Kerrie Lester (1953-2016) became well-known as a portraitist as her playful, textured, highly-coloured works appeared regularly in the Archibald and Portia Geach exhibitions of the late 1980s and the 1990s. In 1998 her wry Archibald entry Self-Portrait as a Bridesmaid won the $500 Packing Room Prize, selected by the team who receive, receipt and process works entered in the competition. Lester's portrait of athlete Cathy Freeman, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, was completed in 1999. The art historian Gavin Fry has suggested that 'the appeal of Kerrie Lester's work lies in the way it embodies both the serious and the whimsical, the fleeting and the solid, the wry smile with instant recognition of our own weaknesses and excesses.'
Anne Zahalka studied at East Sydney Technical College and Sydney College of the Arts. Since the beginning of the 1980s she has participated in group exhibitions in Australia and Germany. Her solo exhibitions since 1986 include the touring shows Leisureland (1999-2001) and Woven Threads (1997-1998). Zahalka has been awarded many arts grants and residencies, including a Fellowship from the Australia Council Visual Arts/Craft Board (2000) and four separate grants from the same body. Her work, which has been extensively reviewed, is held in the National Gallery of Australia, major state and regional galleries, university collections and the National Art Gallery of New Zealand. In 1990, she photographed a number of Australian women artists for a portfolio organised by art dealer Leo Christie. Each woman is photographed in her own milieu and style.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Leo Christie 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
© Anne Zahalka/Copyright Agency, 2021
Leo Christie (10 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Naomi Cass, Director of the Centre of Contemporary Photography, in conversation with Anne Zahalka.
Drawn from some of the many donations made to the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Portraits for Posterity pays homage both to the remarkable (and varied) group of Australians who are portrayed in the portraits and the generosity of the many donors who have presented them to the Gallery.
