B. 1936-1996

Born in the United Kingdom in 1936, Pat Larter was a pioneering and often misunderstood figure in Australian art. With little formal education, she married fellow artist Richard Larter and emigrated to Australia in the early 1960s, becoming both muse and collaborator in his early explorations of Pop-inspired painting. Though long regarded primarily as Richard’s subject, Pat was in fact the creative force behind many of their provocative multimedia works, especially those exploring gender and sexuality.

In the 1960s and 70s, the Larters experimented with audio, video and performance art, with Pat often taking centre stage in their comic, sexually confrontational films. She created her own performance troupe and by the mid-70s had emerged as a major figure in International Mail Art, gaining global recognition for her contributions. Her solo film Men (1975) critiqued sexism with biting humour, and her mail art was celebrated in a retrospective in Tokyo in 1986.

Inspired by Aboriginal women painters from Utopia, Larter turned to painting and mixed media in the 1990s. Her first solo exhibition was held at Sydney’s Legge Gallery in 1992, and she was included in the 1996 Adelaide Biennial shortly before her untimely death. Today, although often still overshadowed by her husband’s legacy, Pat Larter is increasingly recognised as an artist of wit, boldness and subversive originality. Her work is held in major Australian state collections.