Richard Lewer Liz Laverty

Elizabeth Laverty is an art collector and benefactor. She and her late husband, Sydney pathologist Colin Laverty, built one of Australia’s best collections of Indigenous Australian contemporary art, while supporting the communities they visited. Although part of the collection has now been sold, she continues to nurture artists across generations and genres.

This is the third time Richard Lewer has been an Archibald finalist with a portrait of Laverty. Born in New Zealand, Lewer now resides in Melbourne, where he runs a boxing gym in addition to his art practice.

‘I met Liz not long after Colin died in 2013. Naturally our conversations then were mostly about loss and love. But over the years I’ve been painting Liz, I’ve seen steep changes in her energy, positivity and zest for life as she redefines herself,’ says Lewer.

‘The women I know of Liz’s generation have an inner strength. It may be a generalisation, but after the loss of a partner they often seem to live more productive, happier lives than their male counterparts.

‘I have painted Liz wearing one of her signature polka-dot blouses. The highly vibrant colour palette reflects Liz’s warmth and liveliness, the yellow ochre enriching her red hair, pale complexion and blue eyes.’