Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 1 : Presscuttings, 1959-1962

TWO PRIZE-WINNING ENTRIES "MARGARET"' (above), by JOHN RIGBY. of Brisbane, was selected as the best por- trait entered in the competition, and awarded the prise of £1000. It will be reproduced in color in next week's issue. lowing the opening in Sydney nn September 17. "We believe that the ad- ttttt of the stilij,ct painting section this year was a good idea, as the standard in this section seems to be higher than in the portrait. "One reason for this is that although the average amateur painter will have a stab at a portrait, he is not capable of oping with a figure composi- tion. "Subject painting has been a neglected field in Australia, and we are sure that, given en- ouragement such as in The Australian Women's Weekly Art Prize, the standard will improve considerably." Commenting on their C1000 award to John Rigby, the judges said: "llis portrait has limb die- nity and design. and unity which other entries didn't pm- qms. Also the whole of the attention is finally ftictised on the face, which is an important "THE GIRL WITH THE GOLD HAIR" (right). by IVANA VR.4NA, the second Czechoslovakian wanton to win a prize in our competition, was awarded the prize of £250 for the best portrait hr a woman. thing in the consideration of a good portrait. -.Fite painting is realistic, and ih, personality of the sit- ter t9letl;es :111/110V. "The artist has contiiiii his paint well, arid it is (Wi- den( that he has had a clear idea of the effect at which he is aiming. "Finally, from the Rigby portrait it would appear that it is still possible for some of the %iititigri painters in Aus- tralia to produce what appears to be a good portrait. Even though we 111111'1 know tlu sit- ter, we feel that we do after viewing the painting," "Powerful" In their report on the .% 11.141 ker subject painting. the judges said: "This strange and powerful Piclwe is peculiarly Aus- tralian and could not have 11.11 produced by anyone but an Australian 1.'".". THE AlISTIIALIAZ,: \ oi 11.1V S1,11.1111u, ..-1 1.1,s is realist in the hest possible way. It has an extraordinary feeling of reality, and is a most skilful and protessional piece of painting. "Thu handling of the play- ing cards is excellent and his technique is c pleicly in- tegrated with the subject mat- ter." The six judges described Ivana Vrana's winning entry as "an extremely charming and feminine portrait, competently painted and beautiful in color. .'Phis is now the second year that a Czech has won the portrait prize," they added, "and it would be interesting to see the work of timer women painters in eastern European countries.' Of the award to l'hyl Water- house, the judges commented, "This is a MIMI competent piece of painting and a typical example of her work. Miss Vaterliiiiise's painting always einniviands the attention of uto,- JOHN RIGBY. winner of the £1000 award for the beat portrait in our 1958 Art Prise, shows some of the paintings he did abroad while living in Italy on a travel- ling scholarship. He was awarded the Dante Alighieri Scholarship in 1955, 13