Kate Grenville AO (b. 1950), novelist, published her first collection of short stories Bearded Ladies in 1984. Her novels Lilian's Story (1985) – which won The Australian/Vogel Literary Award – and Dreamhouse (1986) were both made into Australian feature films in the 1990s. The Idea of Perfection (2000) won the Orange Prize, a prominent British award for the best book by a woman, in 2001. A few years later, her international best-seller The Secret River (2005), based on her great-great-great-grandfather's life, won many prizes, including the Commonwealth Prize for Literature and the Christina Stead Prize. It was adapted for the stage by the Sydney Theatre Company in 2013 and 2016 and made into a 2015 ABC television series.
In her textured, detailed painting Jenny Sages has depicted Grenville by the Hawkesbury River, the setting for The Secret River and its sequels The Lieutenant (2008) and Sarah Thornhill (2011). In an interview about the portrait Grenville said: 'When we found that spot by the river, and the little jetty, we both knew straight away that that was it. I took off my shoes, because I very much wanted to have that feeling of being barefoot on the land … And she drew me, and photographed me, and then went away and produced this wonderful portrait.'
Gift of the artist 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Jenny Sages
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