1990
In 1990, Geelong Gallery received the second tranche of works from the bequest of prominent Melbourne artist, Sybil Craig, who passed away the previous year.
Craig became an official war artist in 1945, appointed by the Australian War Memorial. Through her role, she became the first female artist to depict women at work in munitions factories: specifically the Commonwealth Explosives Factory in Maribyrnong.
Fellow Melbourne artist Rupert Bunny painted this portrait of Sybil in 1928, and Geelong Gallery acquired it through the Bequest in 1989. Also pictured is one of Craig’s studies of the workers in the munitions factories.
The Sybil Craig Bequest continues to provide funds for the acquisition of works on paper.