Christine Hiller - 2009 Portia Geach Memorial Award Winner

2009 Portia Geach Memorial Award Winner

Australia's most significant prize for celebrating the creativity of Australian female portrait artists, the Portia Geach Memorial Award, has been won this year by CHRISTINE HILLER for her work The Old Painter.

Hiller is the second woman to have won the Award on three occasions. She first won 23 years ago in 1986 for a self portrait, and again the following year (1987) for another self portrait.

Hiller received $18,000 and was announced the winner on Thursday 24 September at a cocktail party held at the National Trust's S.H. Ervin Gallery. The night also marked the reopening of the National Trust's S.H. Ervin Gallery after its refurbishment and 50 years since the death of Portia Geach.

Anne Fulwood officially opened the exhibition.

This year's Judging Panel congratulated Hiller for her powerful composition and the robust, painterly qualities of her work.

"The artist contrasts the stark materiality of her own situation with the comfort offered by belief in earlier, perhaps simpler, times. Hiller's faith in the communicative power of art is apparent in the painting. Indeed, the conviction that drives the artist to portray herself in a search for inspiration and transcendence is central to the painting," the Panel commented.

Hiller said that she was completely surprised and deeply honoured to be awarded this year's Portia Geach Prize.

Commenting on her painting, Hiller said that after returning from a three week trip to Mexico she spent almost two years working on an exhibition of paintings based on her experiences.

"My first thought with this painting was to convey the isolation of the artist. I was to be a dark figure in a dark cave, working away while the rest of the world frolicked above in the Mexican sun. However, the painting evolved in its own way and my original idea faded.

"The composition was inspired by the work of William Blake who often divided his pictures into two levels with the divine at the top and the earthly at the bottom. The lady floating in the sky is the Virgin of Guadalupe, dearly loved by most Mexicans and appearing all over the country in many forms."

"It's only in retrospect that I named my work The Old Painter - a sixty year old woman backed up against a cactus armed with a paintbrush and a few rocks - and what does the Virgin of Guadalupe want?" Hiller said.

The Judging Panel also highly commended Louisa Antico's That Special Place: Self Portrait and Grace Costanzo's Split.

Judges for the 2009 Award were Mr Michael Desmond, Dr Lindy Lee and Imants Tillers.
328 artists entered this year's competition - one of the largest in the history of the Award - with 51 being selected for the exhibition.

Commenting on this year's entries, the Judging Panel was impressed by the diversity and freshness evident in this year's entries.

First awarded in 1965 to Jean Appleton for her work "Self Portrait", the Award continues to play a major role in developing the profiles of many of Australia's female artists.

The trustee is Trust Company of Australia and the Award is organised by Cauz Group Pty Limited.

The exhibition is hosted by the National Trust, S.H. Ervin Gallery until 8

About Christine Hiller

Born on the 24th July 1948, Kit Alexander grew up in Hobart and was educated at Friends' School and at the Tasmanian School of Art. With three small children she began painting watercolour portraits in the evenings and had her first exhibition in 1982. Her portraits have been hung in the Archibald and the Portia Geach Memorial Prize for female artists.

In 1986 and 1987, her portraits won the Portia Geach Award and were bought for the Robert Holmes a Court Collection. She was named Tasmanian of the Year in 1987. Kit has held 27 one-woman exhibitions in Tasmania. She has travelled to Canada, U.S.A., France and Mexico.

Apart from painting, she has completed more than 300 lino-cuts, many of Tasmanian wildflowers and birds; most are individually hand coloured. She lives at Mt. Hicks on the N.W. Coast of Tasmania.

About the Portia Geach Memorial Award
http://www.trust.com.au/philanthropy/awards/portia_geach The Portia Geach Memorial Award is a celebration of female Australian artists. It is Australia's most prestigious portrait prize for female artists.

Established by Florence Kate Geach in 1961 in memory of her sister, Portia Geach, it is awarded each year to the best portrait painted from life of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters or the Sciences.

Since 1965, the Award has played a major role in developing the profiles of Australia's women artists, and is now recognised as one of the most important celebrations of the talents and creativity of female portrait painters.

Past winners include Mary Brady (1966, 1971 and 1975), Elizabeth Cummings (1972), Brenda Humble (1982), Jenny Sages (1992 and 1994), Wendy Sharpe (1995 and 2003) and Jude Rae (2005 and 2008).

About Portia Geach
Portia Geach (1873-1959) was one of the few Australian artists awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy in London, where she studied under John Singer Sargent. She held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Paris and New York, and her portrait of Edith Cowan hangs in Parliament House, Perth.

Portia Geach was a feminist and very vocal in campaigning for female rights. She was president of the Housewives' Association for 43 years, and formed the breakaway Progressive Housewives' Association in 1948. Portia was a strong advocate of equal pay for men and women and the rights of women to hold public office.