John Beard believes that it is ‘particularly problematic and therefore challenging for an artist to make a portrait of another artist. I think it would be futile to attempt a portrait of an artist without holding the highest level of respect for that artist’s practice,’ he says. ‘First it is important to achieve a condition of mutual trust and second, it is necessary to recognise that a degree of dynamic tension is appropriate to such an encounter. Making an artwork is, after all, the result of a kind of struggle.’ Beard was the subject of a portrait by Fred Cress, which won the Archibald Prize in 1988.
Hilarie Mais is a very close friend of Beard’s and someone he considers an exceptional artist. Born in England, Mais moved to Australia in 1981 after a successful early career in New York. Her work of the past two decades has centred on a highly intuitive exploration of sculptural, relief grid-like structures. ‘I wanted to convey her serious level of commitment and perhaps through this portrait reveal the creative and courageous spirit of the artist,’ says Beard.
Beard believes that out of the collaboration between artist and artist-as-subject comes a kind of double portraiture. ‘If the viewer knows the work of the artist portrayed, another visual layer registers through or beyond the perceived portrait,’ he says. ‘It is also interesting to think that an encounter with the portrait might encourage a viewer who is unfamiliar with Hilarie Mais’ work, to seek it out so they can experience it for themselves.’
Born in Aberdare, Wales in 1943, Beard was educated at the University of London and the Royal College of Art. In 1983 he was appointed head of fine art at Curtin University, West Australia. His portrait of Mais is now in the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW.