Portrait of Etta Hirsh 1971

oil on canvas

On loan from the collection of Anouk Hulme

About the artist and their work:

John Howley was born in Melbourne and studied at the National Gallery School (1949–54) under Murray Griffin. His artworks were included as part of important exhibitions in Melbourne in the 1950s, and in the early 1960s he lived and worked in North Africa, Europe and Israel. In 1967 Howley returned to Melbourne and lived with his wife Rachel next door to the Tolarno Gallery in St. Kilda where he also exhibited. There were many works by John Howley in the Hirsh collection and he became a close friend of the family.