E.L. Montefiore

Theo Cowan modelled this commemorative portrait of E.L. Montefiore, one the founders of the New South Wales Academy of Art (which became the Art Gallery of New South Wales), from photographs. Montefiore served as the gallery’s first director in the last two years of his life, from 1892-94.

Cowan is regarded as the first Australian-born professional woman sculptor. Studying at Sydney Technical College (1887-88) under the French artist Lucien Henry, she was advised her to continue her studies abroad. In 1889 she went to Florence but faced discrimination from the authorities at the Accademia di Belle Arti, as a woman and an Australian. Instead, she studied with private tutors and was influenced by the work of fellow women sculptors, including Harriet Hosmer, who were role models for her own professional career. She set up her own studio in London in 1901 before returning to Australia in 1913 where she continued her career in both sculpture and painting.