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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

June Dally-Watkins

1959
Judy Cassab AO CBE

oil on canvas (support: 61.0 cm x 50.5 cm, frame: 73.0 cm x 62.5 cm depth 5.0 cm)

Judy Cassab AO CBE created her first portrait when she was 12, and later said painting ‘was the only thing in life I wanted to do’. Her studies at the Academy of Art in Prague ended when war broke out in 1939; she later resumed her studies in Budapest before adopting false papers and ‘going underground’ to escape the persecution of Jews. When she began painting again, in 1945, she wrote that she’d ‘never let this happen again, this parting from paint and brush’. Cassab began securing portrait commissions soon after arriving in Sydney with her husband and two sons in 1951. In 1955, her portrait of model Judy Barraclough won the Australian Women’s Weekly Portrait Prize. The win helped establish Cassab’s reputation for portraits that were distinctly modern yet sufficiently traditional, leading to further portraits of sitters from the fashion world – including June Dally-Watkins OAM (1927–2020). Dally-Watkins rose to prominence in the late 1940s with her modelling work for David Jones and magazines including the Women’s Weekly. In 1950 she founded the June Dally-Watkins School for deportment and etiquette, and in 1951 established Australia’s first modelling agency.

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2023
© Judy Cassab/Copyright Agency, 2024

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Judy Cassab AO CBE (age 39 in 1959)

June Dally-Watkins OAM (age 32 in 1959)

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
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Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency