Arthur J Murch George Wallace

This portrait by Arthur Murch of comedian George Stevenson Wallace (1895–1960) is now in the collection of Rockhampton Art Galley, Queensland, with the title Portrait of George Wallace.

From his early beginnings in vaudeville, Wallace went on to become Australia’s first genuine box-office star of ‘the talkies’ (sound film). A versatile entertainer, Wallace performed on stage, in film and pantomime, composed songs, taught himself to play the piano, saxophone and guitar, and had his own radio show.

The artist and sitter met through a neighbour while Wallace was living with family in Avalon, on Sydney’s northern beaches, where Murch began preparatory sketches. Apparently, Wallace had argued with his relatives and subsequently moved to a flat in Darlinghurst. Murch was obliged to travel from his home in Mona Vale to Darlinghurst each day, with Wallace too anxious to leave his own home because of ill health. Ria Murch noted Wallace’s larrikin presence in the portrait, but her husband’s interest in classical nuances and the rich and shimmering tones are a clever metaphor. She said, ‘Put a red biretta on him and Murch’s Wallace could pass for a Renaissance cardinal’.