Persona brings together a selection of 29 portraits, from the permanent collection, gifted to the Gallery over a nearly forty-year period.

 

The exhibition explores the unique way in which artists see others, as well as the equally fascinating way in which they view and present themselves. 

 

It features both historical and contemporary works, including the meticulously rendered portrait ‘The Belle of Marken’, by Dutch realist painter Petrus van der Velden. In marked contrast is Juliet Peter’s caricature of Frederick Page and Nigel Brown’s ‘Self Portrait at Cosy Nook’. Some are familiar faces from Gore’s past, including a recent portrait of Wattie Gee (a well-known former schoolteacher) by Cindy Hutton, and portraits of Donogh Hurley (former surgeon at Gore’s Seddon Memorial Hospital), Natalie Dolamore (former Gore librarian) and local art teacher Geoffrey Hughes. Other artists represented are Grahame Sydney, Barry Cleavin, Rudolph Gopas, Els Noordhof and Alan Pearson. 

 

The exhibition also showcases nationally significant artworks bequeathed from local estates such as the Zona Crombie Bequest, along with gifts from notable Gallery supporters such as Tim Gerrard, Sam Neill, and Sir Grahame Sydney.