We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of NSW stands.

Alan Baker Dr Mervyn W Matheson

oil on masonite

100 x 91 cm (original), 48 x 38 cm (cut-down version)

Image of the original work courtesy the sitter's estate

Dr Mervyn W Matheson was Alan Baker’s family GP. After the painting was exhibited in the Archibald Prize, the artist gifted it to his sitter but first he cut it down to show just the head and shoulders as he felt the smaller portrait better suited a domestic environment – a relatively common practice of Baker’s.