B. 1864 – 1939

Agnes Goodsir was born in Portland, Victoria. She first studied with Arthur T. Woodward at the Bendigo School of Mines before moving to France to attend the Parisian academies of the day. The move was inspired by Woodward, who encouraged his students to go out into the world; having begun her career painting still lifes, Goodsir was shifting towards portraiture and in moving abroad, she hoped to ‘“find herself” at age 36. 

Goodsir is among the cohort of 20th century Australian artists who found more notoriety abroad than at home. In 1921, after living in London, she resettled in Paris on the Left Bank with her lifelong companion and muse, Rachel Dunn. They lived in the same building as famed literary couple Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier. 

In 1926, Goodsir was made a member of France’s Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts. She produced many notable commission portraits, including of Sunday Reed and Banjo Patterson, but it was her portraits of Dunn that prove the most compelling. Finally finding recognition in Australia, Goodsir’s work is now represented across public collections. 

To read a more in-depth biography of the artist, click here.