Footnotes

PROVENANCE
Miss B Annells, Adelaide
Possibly the collection of the proprietor of Wynne's Wines, South Australia
Collection of Mr Hercules, Melbourne, by repute
Gregson Flanagan, Perth
Collection of Nicolaas van der Waarden, Sydney, acquired from the above in 1994
Private collection, Sydney

EXHIBITED
The Society of Artists Annual Exhibition, Education Department's Art Gallery, Sydney, 8 - 26 September 1922, cat. 28
New Gallery, Robertson and Mullens Building, 107 Elizabeth St. Melbourne, 11 - 30 November 1924
The Royal South Australian Society of Arts, Adelaide, 1936 Art Union
John Longstaff: Portrait of a Lady, Shepparton Art Museum, Victoria, 18 February - 22 April 2012, cat. 17

LITERATURE
'Society of Artists, The 1922 Exhibition', The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 7 September 1922, p. 10
'Society of Artists, All Australian Show, A Fine Collection', The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 7 September 1922, p. 6
'John Longstaff's Portraits', Table Talk, Melbourne, 7 September 1922, p. 8
'A Woman's Letter', The Bulletin, Melbourne, 7 September 1922, p. 44
Zella Bates, 'Sydney Society, Its Sayings and Doings', Northern Star, New South Wales, 13 September 1922, p. 10
'The Pictures on the Walls, The Society of Artists', Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 21 September 1922, p. 15
Sydney Mail, 20 September 1922, p. 24 (illus.)
'New Gallery Pictures', The Argus, Melbourne, 11 November 1924, p. 15
'Mainly Melbourne', The News, Hobart, 22 November 1924, p. 6
'Melbourne Chatter', The Bulletin, Melbourne, 18 December 1924, p. 44
'Portrait by Noted Australian Artist', The News, Adelaide, 17 March 1936, p. 1 (illus.)
'Diana's Notebook, Organiser at Exhibition', The Mail, Adelaide, 21 March 1936, p. 32
'Tomorrow's Big Display of Art Union Prizes', The News, Adelaide, 24 March 1936, p. 1
'Four Days Remain to Purchase Art Union Tickets', The News, Adelaide, 7 May 1936, p. 14 (illus.)
'Draw Tomorrow For Big Art Union', The News, Adelaide, 1 July 1936, p. 4
'Heysen Painting Chosen First, Art Union Selections', The News, Adelaide, 4 July 1936, p. 1
Prue Joske, Debonair Jack: A Biography of John Longstaff, 1861 - 1941, Claremont, Melbourne, 1994, p. 77 (illus. and back cover), p. 227
Susan Gillberg, Portrait of a Lady: Sir John Longstaff, Shepparton Art Museum, Victoria, 2012, p. 36 (illus.), p. 44

In his personal recollections, art collector Nicolaas Van der Waarden evocatively recounts the fateful evening he acquired Longstaff's portrait of Eve Gray. The auctioneer, tasked with selling the work privately, described to him "'a lovely portrait painted by Longstaff which hasn't been seen for decades..'...Then out came the Longstaff. An enchanting face of a young woman, wearing a ridiculous fruit salad hat, peered out at me. I was instantly smitten. Always as long as I have loved Art, I have wanted to own a work by Sir John Longstaff. I couldn't take my eyes off the portrait of this young woman! I couldn't leave without her. Half an hour later, the painting wrapped in plain
brown paper, I left the auctioneer's office bewildered'.1

Van der Waarden was to dedicate many months to researching the subject of the portrait and the history of the painting itself. With the assistance of academics, curators and connections, Gray was identified as a young actress and model who, in 1922, had been nominated as the "Most Beautiful woman in Australia". The judges for the competition were prominent portrait painters John Longstaff, Julian Ashton, George Lambert and Lionel Long. 2

Following her win, Gray became somewhat of a celebrity and launched a successful career back in England, the country of her birth, where she starred in movies and on the stage.

Francesca Cavazzini

1. Nicolaas Van der Waarden's personal research
2. Susan Gillberg, Portrait of a Lady: Sir John Longstaff, Shepparton Art Museum, Victoria, 2012, p. 44