Painted for the 2015 exhibition, ‘The piano has been drinking (not me)’, this self-portrait by Newcastle-based artist Rachel Milne explores the unglamourous side to painting, capturing the artists internal and external state of disarray. Known for her intimate and observational oil paintings, Milne’s ‘Started Drunk, Finished Sober, Self Portrait with Sarah Lund’ reflects her “reckless” response to Eisenberg’s request for a work.
There is a long history of portraits in the Maitland Regional Art Gallery Collection and this exhibition presents some of the Gallery’s most loved portraits alongside recent acquisitions. This exhibition, curated by Cheryl Farrell and Belle Beasley, sits as inspiration for the many artists from the Maitland Society of Artists who will be immersing themselves in the Gallery spaces for their annual portrait prize.
This exhibition opened 18 March and will be showing until 4 June.
230 High Street, Maitland, NSW 2320
Image: Rachel Milne, Started Drunk, Finished Sober, Self Portrait With Sarah Lund, 2014. Photo credit Michel Brouet.