Josonia Palaitis is an Australian artist living in Sydney, Australia. She won the 1994 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize with a portrait of her father artist John Mills. In 1995 she won the Archibald Prize People's Choice award with a portrait of Bill Leak (artist and cartoonist for the Australian Newspaper).[1]
The National Portrait Gallery commissioned her in 2000 to paint its first portrait of an Australian Prime Minister to include their spouse, a portrait of John Howard and his wife Janette.[2] In 2002 she was commissioned to paint the Childers Memorial Portrait which depicts the fifteen young backpackers who died in a hostel fire in Childers, Queensland in 2000.
Her portrait Patrick Dodson, Yawuru Man, (of chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Pat Dodson), was a finalist in the 1998 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and is in the collection of the National Library of Australia. Other prominent people she has painted include:
- musician James Morrison (1993 Archibald finalist[3]),
- television presenter Ray Martin (1996 Archibald finalist[4]),
- Cardinal Edward Clancy (1998 Portia Geach Memorial Award finalist),
- journalist Paddy McGuinness (2003 Portia Geach Memorial Award finalist), and
- Justice Michael Kirby (2006 Archibald Prize finalist).[5][6]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bill Leak | People's Choice Award 1995 for portrait of painter Bill Leak | Succeeded by Robert Hannaford |
References
- ^ Winner: People's Choice 1995, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW
- ^ Leon Gettler (20 October 2007). "Like the bird, will the nation turn its back on the PM?". The Age.
- ^ Finalists for 1993, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW
- ^ Finalists for 1996, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW
- ^ 2006 Archibald Finalist, Art Gallery of NSW
- ^ Daniel Dasey (26 March 2006). "Prize winner leaves the critics bemused". Sydney Morning Herald.