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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.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

Self portrait among the ant hills

1950
Eric Thake

linocut on paper (sheet: 18.7 cm x 29.0 cm, closed: 18.7 cm x 14.5 cm)

Eric Thake (1904-1982), printmaker, painter and photographer, trained at the National Gallery School and the George Bell School and showed with the Contemporary Group in Melbourne between 1932 and 1938 before serving as an official war artist in the RAAF. While engaged in his thirty-year career in advertising, he held his first solo exhibition at Georges Gallery, Melbourne in 1947; he worked as a medical draughtsman at the University of Melbourne in 1956; and he designed postage stamps and covers for the journal Meanjin. Thake shared the 1941 Contemporary Art Society prize with James Gleeson. Sasha Grishin has written that Thake 'occupied that curious middle ground between being a leading modernist - arguably the first surrealist painter in Australia - and an artist committed to "demystifying" art and bringing art closer to the people. His satirical vignettes on the Australian art scene, in retrospect, read as an incisive commentary on Australian art and its audiences.' A retrospective of his work was held at the NGV in 1970; an exhibition of his cards, Christmas Cards, Eric Thake: Christmas greetings from Thake's flat was held at the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne in 2002.

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011
© Estate of Eric Thake

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Eric Thake (age 46 in 1950)

Subject professions

Visual arts and crafts

Donated by

Professor Peter van Sommers (7 portraits)

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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.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

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.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency