| Accession Number | ART92335 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Framed: 76.8 x 66.2 cm; Unframed: 61.5 cm x 51.2 cm |
| Object type | Painting |
| Physical description | oil on canvas |
| Maker |
Whinnen, George |
| Place made | Australia |
| Date made | 1942 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Joan Emily McEwin
Description
A portrait of Joan Emily McEwin SX14793, a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) from the Second World War. In 1941 McEwin followed her older brother Gordon into the army and trained to join the VAD. Soon after enlistment she sailed to the Middle East with the VADs attached to the 2/9th Australian General Hospital. McEwin was only in the Middle East for a few weeks before she contracted Cerebro Spinal Meningitis. On 23 November 1941 McEwin died at Port Suez and was buried at the Port Suez Military Cemetery. Her family commissioned this portrait posthumously and it was painted in 1942 by George Whinnen from a photograph.
During her working life prior to the war McEwin was devoted to the welfare of the children of poorer members of her local community and supervisor of the Kindergarten at the Houghton Congregational Church. A marble plaque was erected in the grounds of the Houghton Congregational Church in recognition of her contribution to the welfare of her local community.