Joe and Brenda

Joseph Croft (c. 1926–1996) was a Gurindji/Mudpurra man from the Northern Territory and member of the Stolen Generations. Removed from his family when he was eighteen months old, he spent his childhood in government institutions. In 1944, he became the first Aboriginal person to attend an Australian university, studying engineering at the University of Queensland. After working as a contracting surveyor on dam building and railway line rebuilding projects from 1950 until 1971, Croft was appointed as a Cultural Adviser in the Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs from the mid-1970s and served on the Anti-Discrimination Board. Croft remained active in advocating Indigenous rights throughout his life. His daughter Brenda L. Croft has carried on her father's legacy of activism through her work as an artist, curator, lecturer and freelance writer.

Michael Riley, a Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi photographer, filmmaker and video-artist, was one of Australia's most influential Aboriginal contemporary artists. Originally Riley didn't plan to include this portrait of Joe and Brenda in his 1990 Portraits by a Window exhibition. Then Brenda intervened. 'And I just said, you know, "Well if you want to make an old man happy, you'd better print it." So we did. We spent the entire night printing it in Sandy Edwards' studio, printing it by hand. So we framed it and – lucky for him – Dad bought it at the opening.'

Purchased 2013
© Michael Riley/Copyright Agency, 2024