.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Related work: Madame Melba, oil on canvas, 245 x 153 cm, Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Portraiture was a part of Bunny's oeuvre throughout his long career. There are many portraits of the artist, his family, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and a number of specifically commissioned works in existence. At the beginning of the last century the subjects of his portraits were on the whole female, especially actresses and singers of the day. There are strong stylistic similarities between this work and the portrait of Dame Nellie Melba in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria with "... the subdued, brownish tonality of the painting, its severe restricted palette and the broad handling (which) are typical of Bunny's work between 1900 and 1904." (M Eagle, The Art of Rupert Bunny, Canberra, 1991, p.46)
Portraiture was a part of Bunny's oeuvre throughout his long career. There are many portraits of the artist, his family, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and a number of specifically commissioned works in existence. At the beginning of the last century the subjects of his portraits were on the whole female, especially actresses and singers of the day. There are strong stylistic similarities between this work and the portrait of Dame Nellie Melba in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria with "... the subdued, brownish tonality of the painting, its severe restricted palette and the broad handling (which) are typical of Bunny's work between 1900 and 1904." (M Eagle, The Art of Rupert Bunny, Canberra, 1991, p.46)