DAWSON

KATHLEEN BOYLE - 1955

58 x 44 (frame: 76 x 61.5) cm

Oil on board; Signed & Dated lower right; Inscribed "Boyle" verso.

Provenance: Private collection, Melbourne. 

This early oil on board from Janet Dawson’s student years demonstrates her emerging command of figuration and atmospheric composition. The painting, inscribed “Boyle” verso, likely represents a fellow student and friend, Kathleen Boyle, with whom Dawson shared the National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship in 1956. The rich, layered brushwork reflects a sensitivity to light and texture that would become a hallmark of her practice, while the portrait’s contemplative tone foreshadows Dawson’s later interest in conveying psychological depth and the subtleties of character.

Additional image below.