| Place | Oceania: Australia, New South Wales, Sydney |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART93188 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Image: 130 x 106.8 cm; Frame: 147 x 124 cm |
| Object type | Painting |
| Physical description | oil on linen |
| Maker |
Ploeg, Evert |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
| Date made | 2006 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: External copyright |
Elizabeth Lucas
Description
Portrait of Elizabeth Field Lucas (nee Ratten) OAM, (12 September 1912 - 11 March 2007), service number V345005. This portrait was painted when Lucas was aged 93. It was commissioned by her family and then donated to the Australian War Memorial. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Lucas joined the Prisoners of War Bureau and then became commanding officer of the Australian Women's Service Corp, later joining the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS). She was the longest serving commanding officer of the AWAS. Throughout her life Lucas was active in the community, in particularly supporting the position of women in the armed services.
In an artist statement about this portrait, Ploeg discussed his choice of pose for the subject, "Being told on numerous occasions that Elizabeth was never one to sit still... never one to let others do, and always the one to take the lead, it seemed appropriate to paint her not relaxing back into her chair, but sitting on the "edge of her seat" so to speak, as a symbolic analogy of how she lived her life".