This confident and unflinching self portrait confirms accounts of
Christine Audrey Pecket’s strong will and her dedication in the face of
considerable obstacles. Aged five when she contracted poliomyelitis,
Pecket relied on braces and crutches, enduring years of painful
orthopaedic treatments. Despite these challenges, Pecket was determined
to become an artist. She completed a diploma at East Sydney Technical
College, and her solo exhibition in 1937 included over 60 works. In a
review of the exhibition in the Sydney Morning Herald, she
said: ‘Disabilities are supposed to take everything from life, to leave
it hollow and empty. But they don’t. They make you try all the harder.
One makes up one’s mind to succeed despite the odds, and one does.’
After graduation Pecket established a studio in Castlereagh Street,
Sydney, where she painted and offered tuition. Later she focused on
pottery, producing a range of slip-cast decorative objects under the
‘Christine Ware’ label. In 1955 Pecket moved to Cammeray, where she
built a studio and returned to painting, sculpting and teaching.
Purchased 2020
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