They are works of art that the public rarely sees: the custom-made personal portraits that hang in homes, perhaps above a mantelpiece, in a study or a bedroom; images of ourselves, family and other loved ones, sometimes even our pets.
Now that selfies are available to anyone with a smartphone and professional photography is affordable and accessible, the desire for a painted portrait speaks to the appeal of the tradition and its unique process: the artist's interpretation of the subject that often reveals more than just a similarity.
"There's something that happens in that closeness, that one-on-one contact," says Joanna Gilmour, curator at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. "You can't define it or quantify it."
The popularity of portrait awards, including the Archibald and the Darling, and the success of the ABC TV series Anh's Brush with Fame, confirm that the art form is here to stay. "We are programmed to respond to people whether we like it or not, and portraits are so effective at that [tapping into] that," says Gilmour. "It is an incredibly accessible genre."
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Although we enjoy looking at portraits, commissioning a portrait is something completely different. Portrait commission fees can range from $5,000 to $20,000 and more, depending on the scope of the work, materials used, process and time commitment, as well as the artist's profile.
Few portrait painters in Australia experience enough demand to make it a full-time occupation. Even Ralph Heimans, whose Portraiture. Current. Influence exhibition now at the National Portrait Gallery includes paintings by Queen Mary of Denmark, King Charles III and Dame Judi Dench, who had to leave Australia to have a go.
While it may be niche, Gilmour has no doubt that the personal portrait will endure. "People have portraits made because they want an image of the people they love and admire. They have been making portraits for those reasons for as long as portraits have been made."
Here, three Australians share the painted portraits that hang in their homes - and the stories behind them.
'I became fascinated by what it could look like'
Wendy Brown's reaction to her husband's wish to have a portrait taken of her was not initially positive. She was shocked. "It's my worst nightmare," says the surgeon.
The idea came to her husband, Melbourne art collector and property developer Andrew Cook, out of a desire to express his love for his wife and admiration for her achievements. Brown eventually came up with the idea. "I think I became a little fascinated with what it could look like," she says.
Cook was familiar with Yvette Coppersmith's portrait work and says he was struck by how much comes out of her works. "You feel like you're catching a glimpse of someone's inner life." He contacted Coppersmith's gallery and after the Archibald Prize-winning artist met the couple, she accepted the commission.
Over the next few months, Coppersmith compiled a file of reference points from historical paintings for inspiration and spent hours with Brown experimenting with different poses, clothing, colors and facial expressions.
The process took about a year, while Coppersmith worked on other commissions and exhibitions. "That time allows you to solve problems. It may not take 12 months to paint, but it will take 12 months to get everything right," says Coppersmith.
The portrait shows a side of Brown that is very different from her medical personality. An "intimacy," says Coppersmith, that is much harder to achieve in an institutional committee. "This is the self they get at home; it is a visual anchor that reminds you how you like to feel."
For Brown it is more than just a beautiful painting. "Yvette took me on a journey as she created this work of art," she says. "It was a very precious gift."
'The most beautiful gift I have ever received'
When Mikhayla Carey decided to commission a portrait of their three children for her husband, Jarwin, she knew there could only be one artist for the job. Having already painted several portraits of the extended Carey clan, the work of Bundjalung and Biripai woman and artist Noni Cragg was a family favourite.
The portrait was planned as a Christmas surprise, so Jarwin and their children knew nothing about it. Carey sent Cragg several photographs and notes about Koda, Arlo and Nala to help the artist capture the children's personalities and their connection to Gumbaynggirr Country on the north coast of New South Wales, where the family lives.
First Nations portraits have always played an important role in Cragg's practice. "I want to celebrate people who have not historically been celebrated in visual arts institutions - people of color, women and gender diverse people," she says.
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In each portrait she typically includes plants, animals and birds that are important to her subjects and their country. For the Carey commission, that meant painting a ngarlaa, the turtle Nala is named after, and a jaawan (lyrebird) for Jarwin. She also added an Aboriginal flag and local birds and plants.
Painted in Sydney, where Cragg is based, Carey only saw the final work when the family opened the package together. "When Jarwin saw it, he said, 'This is the best gift I've ever received.'"
The portrait hangs in the family's dining room and the children enjoy showing it to visitors. Carey says Jarwin swears this is the first object he would save if there were ever a house fire.
"If anything were to happen to it, I would be heartbroken because I know it could never be replaced," she says. "It's priceless."
'It was very healing'
After surviving breast cancer, Avis Tolcher continued to live with the devastating psychological impact of events from her past. So when the then 60-year-old former dancer asked artist Yvonne East to paint her, she was looking for more than just a flattering likeness.
Tolcher had seen an exhibition of East's work at the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery in South Australia and was inspired to have her own portrait made. "The paintings were beautiful, even if the subject was not. I thought, maybe if I saw myself like that I could heal myself?
Tolcher requested a nude portrait showing the scars from her mastectomy, so after agreeing to the commission, East took some time to consider how she would approach the work. "I didn't do anything for two months. It was a simmer, simmer, simmer. Then one morning I woke up and saw it in my mind. I called her and said, 'Let's sit down.'" Three days later the portrait was finished.
Tolcher invited East and some close friends to a "reveal" at home. When the curtain was removed, "Avis stood completely still and raised her hand to cover her mouth," East recalls. "Everyone was silent and she said in a fragile but clear voice, 'Oh my god... I'm beautiful.'"
"It was very healing," Tolcher says. "And everyone there understood exactly what it meant to me."
For years the portrait hung in her living room where visitors could see it, but after meeting her second husband David, it now hangs above the four-poster bed he made for her. Tolcher says the painting will always be "absolutely precious" to her.
