Dame Merlyn Myer DBE (née Baillieu, 1900–1982), philanthropist, was born in Queenscliff, Victoria and raised in Melbourne. At sixteen she met Sidney Myer, who'd arrived in Victoria as Simca Baevski in 1898. By 1911, he'd opened a sophisticated American-style department store, the Myer Emporium, on Bourke Street. He married Merlyn in 1920. After his death in 1934, Merlyn devoted herself to the business and to fundraising, administering the Sidney Myer Charitable Trust, which financed the Sidney Myer Music Bowl among many other projects. She was an active board member of the Royal Melbourne Hospital for four decades, and was appointed OBE for her work on behalf of the Red Cross during the war. She raised large sums for cancer and heart disease research and supported many community welfare organisations. She was promoted to DBE for her philanthropy in 1960.
A professional portraitist for almost 70 years, Sir William Dargie's output constitutes a who's who of leading Australian figures. This work – a study for a portrait in the Myer family collection – was a gift to the National Portrait Gallery from the estate of Marion Orme Page, whose father, the pastoralist and businessman Sir Clive McPherson, was another of Dargie's many subjects, and a colleague of Dame Merlyn's on the board of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Gift of the Estate of Marion Orme Page 2016
© Roger Dargie and Faye Dargie
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