Painter, potter and printmaker Arthur Boyd AC OBE (1920–1999) was one of Australia’s greatest artists. Working between Australia and the UK during the 1960s and 70s, he explored deeply humanistic themes as well as biblical and mythological narratives set in the Australian bush. Yvonne Lennie (1920–2013) studied at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, winning prizes for drawing, and met Arthur at an art class. They married in 1945, Yvonne first teaching art to supplement their income, then becoming Arthur’s business manager and mother to their three children.
In the early 1970s, the Boyds bought a property on the Shoalhaven River on the south coast of New South Wales, Bundanon, which means ‘deep valley’ in Dharawal language. Photographer Greg Weight took this informal kitchen portrait in the family homestead. The couple’s vision was for the property to ‘be accessible to any Australian whose life can be enriched by interaction with Australian creative artists’ – they gifted Bundanon to the Australian people in 1993
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Gregory Weight/Copyright Agency, 2024
Greg Weight (age 47 in 1993)
Arthur Boyd AC OBE (age 73 in 1993)
Yvonne Boyd (age 73 in 1993)
Patrick Corrigan AM (130 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Greg Weight on working with Jiawei Shen, and starting out as a photographer.
Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.
