Betty Burstall AM (1926–2013) played a vital role in the development of theatre in Australia. Born in Queensland and raised in Melbourne, she commenced an Arts degree at the University of Melbourne in the 1940s, but was expelled on becoming pregnant to her boyfriend, Tim Burstall, later to become an influential filmmaker. They married in 1946 and shortly afterwards moved to Eltham, north-east of Melbourne where Betty worked at the local high school as a French and English teacher. In 1967, she founded La Mama in Carlton, an independent theatre modeled on the original off-Broadway theatre in New York, where she lived in the mid-1960s. Local actors, writers, directors, poets and musicians were encouraged to use the space for innovative, small-scale productions, providing an outlet for groundbreaking Australian theatre and fostering writers like David Williamson, Jack Hibberd and Tes Lyssiotis. Artistic director Liz Jones took over in the 1970s and La Mama still exists today.
Arthur Boyd produced few formal portraits but painted this work in the 1940s when Betty and Tim were regular visitors to his family's property in Murrumbeena. Boyd depicted Betty with flushed cheeks, lost in thought. He also used Betty's distinctive face in his religious paintings in the late 1940s, and in his murals at The Grange.
Purchased 1998
© Arthur Boyd
Arthur Boyd's work reproduced with the permission of the Bundanon Trust
A portrait of theatre director Betty Burstall by family friend and artist, Arthur Boyd AC OBE, created in 1945. Oil on canvas measuring 80 centimetres in height by 64 centimetres wide. The portrait focuses on Betty’s head and torso. Her face is luminous and large dark eyes draw the viewer into the work. The dark curls of her hair nearly touch the top of the canvas. Her body has been cropped at the chest and shoulders which fills the lower half of the painting. She is angled to the right of the frame with her left shoulder in view.
Short overlapping brushstrokes create a heavily textured surface for the skin of her face and neck. Betty’s face glows warmly in pale creamy flesh tones. The skin across her cheeks and nose blossom to darker shades of pinks and red. This creates a dramatic contrast with the plain dark background.
Voluminous brunette curls flick loosely upwards to frame her broad round face. Her hair is cut to rest above her shoulders. Her left earlobe peeks out amid the dark curls which are tamed into a side part on the right. A few curls casually caress her short forehead. Her deep-set eyes are heavily lidded underneath a prominent brow. She has a long nose and a closed bow-shaped mouth slightly downturned above a softly rounded chin. Her expression is considered, direct and serious.
Betty wears a long-sleeved olive-green top with a pointed collar. Loose brushstrokes create textured clothing. Light glistens off the fabric, which appears nearly golden around her neck. A dark line of paint creates a gathered effect across the front of her chest.
The combination of thickly applied paint, surrounding dark background and her sombre expression create a weightiness in the portrait.
The artist’s signature, Arthur Boyd, is painted in black on the lower right.
Audio Description written by Alana Sivell and voiced by Amy Middleby
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Christopher Chapman looks at influences and insight in the formative years of Arthur Boyd.
Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.
