Self Portrait in a Brown Coat

Christine Audrey Pecket (1908–1996) was five when she contracted poliomyelitis, relying on braces and crutches and many years of painful orthopaedic treatments. Despite these challenges, Pecket determined on becoming an artist. From around 1934, and with financial assistance from the NSW Society for Crippled Children, she completed a diploma at East Sydney Technical College. Her solo exhibition in 1937 included over 60 works. She established a studio in Castlereagh Street, Sydney, where she painted and offered tuition. Later she focused on pottery, establishing a studio at her home in Ashfield, teaching, and producing a range of slip-cast decorative objects under the 'Christine Ware' label. In 1955 Pecket moved to her own home in Cammeray, where she later built a studio and returned to painting, sculpting and teaching.

This self portrait confirms accounts of Pecket's strong will and her dedication in the face of considerable obstacles. In a review of her graduating exhibition in the Sydney Morning Herald on 7 December 1937, she said: 'Disabilities are supposed to take everything from life, to leave it hollow and empty. But they don't. They make you try all the harder. One makes up one's mind to succeed despite the odds, and one does.' A photograph of Pecket at work on the portrait appeared alongside the article.

Purchased 2020