Rachel Roxburgh BEM (1915–1991), artist, educator, conservationist, and heritage campaigner, was born in Sydney and studied at East Sydney Technical College and the Adelaide Perry Art School in the early 1930s. Subsequently, she exhibited with the Contemporary Group, the Society of Artists and at the Macquarie Galleries, and in 1940 organised an exhibition in aid of the Sydney Artists’ and Journalists’ Fund. During World War II she joined a Voluntary Aid Detachment and qualified as a nurse at Sydney Hospital. After the war she spent time in Europe, furthering her studies at the London Central and Hammersmith Art Schools and travelling and sketching in France, Italy, Spain and south-west England. She held her first solo exhibition after returning to Sydney in 1956 and the same year became a member of the newly-formed Potters Society with whom she also exhibited. During the same period she joined the National Trust of Australia (NSW), later becoming a member of its council (1961–76) and executive (1961–63). She also served on the Trust's women’s committee and as a member of the survey committee worked to identify and classify the colonial architectural heritage of New South Wales. A school art teacher for over twenty years, Roxburgh also wrote several articles and books on colonial Australian architecture.
Purchased 2018
© Estate of Adelaide Perry
A portrait of the artist, educator and conservationist, Rachel Roxburgh by Adelaide Perry.
A framed oil painting on canvas, created in 1939, it measures 77 cm high and 67 cm wide.
The frame is a dull gold with a pale grey wash painted over the gold in sections in clear brushstrokes. The corners are raised and decorated in a foliage design.
The portrait’s strong, striped background in cool colours contrasts with a sensitive depiction of the figure of Rachel Roxburgh. Seated on a settee, rendered in warm peaches and creams Rachel’s image is cropped at the bust, filling the majority of the canvas.
The background is a vertical repeating design of thick taupe, teal and almost-black lines. An unseen object casts a faint shadow behind her right shoulder. Just the curve of a reddish-brown high-backed settee is partially shown behind her left shoulder.
Her brunette hair is pulled off her face, elegantly piled on her head in a loose rolled wave, revealing her ears. She has a high forehead with lightly arched brown brows and deep hooded round, light green eyes.
She gazes intently outwards over our right shoulder. Her complexion is creamy, with her nose and cheeks a blushing peach. Her full lips are coated in a vivid coral lipstick. Her chin and jawline are softly rounded and also flushed pink. The arch of her eyebrows and slight upturn of the upper lip makes her appear thoughtful.
Rachel wears a cream pussy-bow blouse with an understated white floral design and a line of greyish buttons. Puff sleeves stop midway down her upper arm, emphasising her broad shoulders. On the garment, taupe and dusky pink shadows emphasise the loosely draping neckline and the trail of buttons down her front.
A signature in bright red is painted in the bottom right, A. E. Perry, 39.
Audio description written by Alana Sivell and voiced by Emma Bedford
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Sarah Engledow lauds the very civil service of Dame Helen Blaxland.
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Drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection, this salon-style hang references the lavish 18th- and 19th-century European salons where paintings were hung floor-to-ceiling.
