Mathew Lynn Anna Volska

Mathew Lynn felt strangely connected to Anna Volska when he saw her perform in a Nimrod production of Chekhov’s Three sisters. “I thought she had an intriguing, compelling presence,” he says. “And she became one of those ubiquitous people who keep turning up in your life. I worked at an art shop and she often turned up there; where I go on holiday, she also holidays. Beyond that she has one of those incredibly captivating, beckoning gazes; penetrating but compassionate and mysteriously vast. And she has a real warmth and gentleness about her.”

When Lynn wrote to ask if Volska would consider sitting for him, she rang back almost immediately to say she’d love to do it. “It was the opening week of the Bell Shakespeare Company production of Richard III so I don’t know how she did it. But she didn’t seem to think twice. People who aren’t used to the public gaze might perhaps think about it for a while but as an actor she was comfortable.”

One of Australia’s leading actors, Volska has performed extensively for all the major state theatre companies. She has also performed regularly for the Bell Shakespeare Company run by her husband, actor/director John Bell, with whom she has two daughters, playwright Hilary Bell and actor Lucy Bell.

Lynn wanted to paint Volska wearing something splendid, as if she was in her full and amplified form. “It’s not the day-to-day Anna,” he says. “Her face, with its direct, penetrating gaze, is the most important part of the portrait, while through my eyes, I try to amplify and clarify her nature with her gestures, clothes and colours. I wanted something intense and gentle at the same time,” says Lynn.

Born in Sydney in 1963, Lynn has exhibited in the Archibald Prize on six previous occasions. In 1997 he was a runner-up and was voted People’s Choice for his portrait of writer/producer/television presenter Jeanne Ryckmans. He was also a runner-up in 1998 with his portrait of painter Guan Wei. He has also been represented in the Wynne and Sulman Prizes.