[ARCHIBALD PRIZE FINALIST 2024]

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‘You know I don’t like portraits.’ So said Germaine Greer while sitting for this painting. ‘Her only instruction was that she wasn’t having any input,’ says Liz Sullivan, a first-time Archibald finalist. 

 

Greer is a trailblazing feminist, academic, author and conservationist, who became a household name in 1970 with her seminal,

bestselling book The female eunuch.

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Greer now lives in aged care near Sullivan’s home in regional Victoria, so one morning the artist and her sister paid a visit. ‘I had

considered asking Germaine to sit for a portrait but decided she was too formidable. In fact, she was very approachable, put us all at ease and agreed,’ says Sullivan.

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"The final painting

has a simplicity

about it"

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Her mind fired like a fully charged battery. The only things that

stayed still were her legs. She didn’t want any make-up or special

clothing, just a glass of wine for both of us while I tried to keep up

with her in wide-ranging discussions about politics, sport and

world affairs.

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‘I began with overlapping images, trying to match Germaine’s

vitality. This final painting has a simplicity about it. Germaine’s

stance and hands speak loudly, the pencil marks speak softly – a

limited palette capturing both her strength and vulnerability.’

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