Elisabeth Cummings’ portrait by Riste Andrievski has been selected as a FINALIST, for the Brisbane Portrait Prize 2024. Congratulations to Riste Andrievski.
About the artwork
Brisbane born Elisabeth Cummings is one of Australia’s most respected living artists, having been working and exhibiting for 50 years. Her large scale paintings are inspired by her travels to regional and remote locations around Australia.
Sitting in her studio in a pose reminiscent of a William Dobell portrait, she smiles gently at the viewer. There is a sense of calm in the portrait with the sitter very much at ease. The black and white of the photograph acts to soften the scene and quietly draw us into the calm but crowded world of the artist.
Elisabeth Cummings studied at the National Art School in Sydney, and then lived and worked in Europe. On her return to Sydney in the early 70’s, she established an artists’ community at Wedderburn, NSW. She continues to work from her studio there today.
In 2023, a major exhibition celebrating Elisabeth Cumming’s work from the last three decades was held at the National Art School, noting: “Cummings’ paintings are grounded in memory and her experience of place, distilling into visual form her response to her surroundings, including Australia’s unique landforms and ecology, as well as beloved internal spaces.”
She has had many solo exhibitions, won numerous awards and her work is held in permanent collections across Australia. She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2011.
About the artist
Riste Andrievski is drawn to photography for its immediate, graphic and expressive qualities. His work centres on ideas of identity, in particular the influence that landscape has on identity and self. He has exhibited at Australian regional galleries and has been a finalist in many awards, including National Photographic Portrait Prize, Olive Cotton Portrait Prize the Brisbane Portrait Prize and the Percival Photographic Portrait Prize.