Jude Rae

Jude Rae was born in Sydney in 1956.[1][2] Her father, David Rae, was a realist painter, who is also exhibited in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.[3][4][2] She attended Julian Ashton Art School alongside her secondary school education from age 11 or 12.[2][5] Both of her parents also trained at Julian Ashton Art School.[6]

Rae has completed a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, focusing on Art History at the University of Sydney (1993) having started enrolled in Biochemistry.[2] Rae went on to achieve a Graduate Diploma in Professional Art Studies, University of New South Wales (1984), and Master of Arts (Painting), University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand (1993).[5]

Rae began exhibiting in the 1980s, and was first included in 12 Contemporary Women at the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.[5] In 1987, Rae then began showing with Painters Gallery, Sydney.[5] In 1989, after receiving the Australia Council Residency in Paris and working in London, she came to New Zealand and lived in Christchurch.[2][7] She returned to Australia in 2003, and in the early 2000s, Rae won several awards including the Portia Geach Memorial Award in both 2005 and 2008.[2][7]

She has also taught in both Australia and New Zealand, including at Australian National University.[1][8]

Rae has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions across Australia and New Zealand since the 1980s. Recent exhibitions have included:

• Know My Name, in 2021, at The National Gallery of Australia included Rae in their major survey of Australian women artists.[3]
• Jude Rae: A Space of Measured Light, in 2017 at the Drill Hall Gallery at the Australian National University, Canberra (curated by Terence Maloon).[3][8]
• Jude Rae: Still Lifes, in 2010 at Canberra Museum and Gallery (curated by Mark Van Veen).[5]
• Idle Hours, in 2009-2010 at National Portrait Gallery included one of her portraits as a key artwork.[1]

Rae is known for her still lifes, large scale interiors, and portraits, several of which have been award-winning. Her artworks are found in collections across Australia and New Zealand, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales,[9] Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki,[10] National Gallery of Australia,[11] National Portrait Gallery,[1] Te Papa Tongarewa[12] as well as private collections.

Rae is frequently commissioned to paint portraits. Her portraits have included several famous Australians and New Zealanders:

• Saul Griffith in 2022[13][14]
• Sian Elias, first female Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of New Zealand, in 2019 for the New Zealand Law Society.[3][15]
• Linda Burney, first Aboriginal woman elected to the House of Representatives, in 2018 for the Parliament of Australia.[16]
• Terry Snow in 2017 for the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.[17]
• Susan Kiefel, Chief Justice of Australia, in 2017 for the High Court of Australia.[3][18]
• The Honourable Anna Bourke AO, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, in 2015 for the Parliament of Australia, which was the first portrait of a female subject painted by a female artist in the Australian Parliamentary Collection.[3]
• Owen G. Glenn in 2009 for the University of Auckland.[7]
• Frank Fenner in 2007 for the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.[19]

Rae has won several awards including:

• The Bulgari Award, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2016 for SL 359 2016.[19]
• The Portia Geach Memorial Award, S. H. Ervin Gallery, in 2008 for Self Portrait 2008 (The Year My Husband Left).[20]
• The Portia Geach Memorial Award, S. H. Ervin Gallery, in 2005 for Large Interior (Micky Allan).[20]

Rae has also been the finalist in:

• Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2022 for The white fig (Ficus virens), Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney.[21]
• Highly Commended, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2022 for The big switch – portrait of Dr Saul Griffith. [13][14]
• Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2021 for On the beach (Malua Bay, NYE 2019).[22]
• Highly Commended, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2021 for Inside Out.[23]
• Highly Commended, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2019 for Sarah Peirse as Miss Docker in Patrick White's 'A cheery soul' .[24]
• Highly Commended, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2014 for Sarah Peirse.[25]
• Dobell Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2012 for Untitled 102.[26]

• Rae, Jude, and Jenny Gillam. 1998. Jude Rae: Stilled. Wellington N.Z: Jensen Gallery.
• Van Veen, Mark. 2010. Jude Rae: Still Lifes. Canberra: Canberra Museum and Gallery.
• Hinkson, Melinda (ed.). 2016. Imaging Identity: Media Memory and Portraiture in the Digital Age. Acton, ACT: ANU Press. https://doi.org/10.22459/II.08.2016.