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Title

Self portrait

(1996)

Artist

Pam Hallandal

Australia

16 Jan 1929 – 26 Sep 2018

Artist profile

  • Details

    Place where the work was made
    Melbourne → Victoria → Australia
    Date
    (1996)
    Media category
    Drawing
    Materials used
    charcoal, pastel on white wove paper
    Dimensions
    100.0 x 74.0 cm sheet; 123.0 x 79.5 x 3.5 cm frame
    Signature & date

    Signed l.l. corner, charcoal "Hallandal". Not dated.

    Credit
    Gift of the Trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation 1996
    Location
    Not on display
    Accession number
    135.1996
    Copyright
    © Pam Hallandal

    Reproduction requests

    Dobell Prize for Drawing
    Winner - 1996
    Artist information
    Pam Hallandal

    Artist profile

    Works in the collection

    22

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  • About

    Hallandal’s first self-portraits were made in the early 1980s ‘ … in order to try to talk to this poor girl who was drawing away in a corner, struggling badly with a self portrait’ (Elizabeth Cross, ‘Pam Hallandal’, The Art Bulletin of Tasmania,
    1984, p 52). Since then, they have occupied a central place in her work. Hallandal’s experience as a teacher of drawing at Prahran Senior Technical College led her to devote herself exclusively to drawing rather than sculpture.

    'I found it hard to teach drawing seriously and make sculpture. Some people argue that it is better to teach outside your own area, but in order to be good enough to teach drawing well, you have to spend a lot of time and energy and be able to hold the concepts sufficiently tautly' (Elizabeth Cross, 1984, p 51).

    Hallandal’s mother was also an important subject, but after her death, Hallandal turned increasingly to herself as a subject.

    'My mother had died – now I found a new head, one that was always with me. This head set up a new situation – no empathy – just a subject for ruthless objectivity – no vanity. Old polios like me are stripped of physical vanity – the inner reality of course remains' (Elizabeth Cross, Pam Hallandal drawings, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria, 1998, p 8).

    Another self-portrait is held in the Gallery’s collection (see Henrik Kolenberg, Australian drawings from the Gallery’s collection, AGNSW, Sydney, 1997, p 130).

    This work won the Dobell Prize for Drawing in 1996 and was acquired by the Gallery in 1996.

  • Places

    Where the work was made

    Melbourne

  • Exhibition history

    Shown in 5 exhibitions

  • Bibliography

    Referenced in 10 publications

    • Jonathan Cooper (Editor), The Art Gallery of New South Wales Bulletin, 'Dobell Prize for Drawing', pg. 13, Sydney, Feb 1997-Apr 1997, 13 (colour illus.).

    • Elizabeth Fortescue, Daily Telegraph, ‘Drawn to human traffic’, pg. 26, Sydney, 05 Apr 1996, 26 (illus.).

    • Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, 'Drawing a winner: a decade of Dobell prizes shows us how and why', pg. 24-27, Sydney, Aug 2003, 26 (colour illus.). NOTE: this has been reproduced in reverse

    • Hendrik Kolenberg, The Dobell Prize for Drawing: 1993-2004, ‘Introduction: the first ten years’, pg. 8-9, Sydney, 2004, 8, 9, 22, 23 (colour illlus.), 50, 52.

    • Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, 'A fine harvest of drawings: legacy of an exceptional draughtsman', pg. 28-31, Sydney, Nov 2011, 29.

    • Hendrik Kolenberg, Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 years of the Dobell Prize for Drawing, ‘Introduction’, pg. 6-14, Sydney, 2012, 7, 26, 27 (colour illus.), 60.

    • John MacDonald, The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Archibald and the sex goddess: the art prize that surprises’, pg. 7, Sydney, 09 Mar 1996, 7 (illus., detail).

    • Janet McKenzie, Contemporary Australian drawing #1, 'Pam Hallandal', pg. 90-91, South Yarra, 2012, 90.

    • Joanna Mendelssohn, The Weekend Australian, ‘Archibald judges get the right one this time’, pg. 2, Canberra, 09 Mar 1996-10 Mar 1996, 2 (illus.).

    • Jill Sykes, Look, 'Pam Hallandal: drawing from life', pg. 26-29, Sydney, Oct 2010, 26 (colour illus.).

Other works by Pam Hallandal

See all 22 works