Commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, this tapestry is a fitting tribute to the Australian Tapestry Workshop’s (ATW) inaugural patron and lifelong supporter, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE.

As a passionate advocate of the arts and chair of the committee who founded the Victorian (now Australian) Tapestry Workshop in 1976, Dame Elisabeth was a driving force in the Workshop’s establishment.

A dedicated supporter throughout her life, Dame Elisabeth made an outstanding contribution to the ATW through her generous patronage and role as a founding board member (1976 – 1995), Friend of the Workshop and trustee of the Tapestry Foundation of Australia. In the words of ATW founding director, Dr Sue Walker AM, ‘The ATW owes its very existence and much of its extraordinary success to the vision, drive, and astute dealings of this remarkable woman.’

Commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in 2000, ‘Portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’ is based on an image of Dame Elisabeth at her much-loved garden at Cruden Farm, Langwarrin, photographed by Christopher Pyett and digitally enhanced by Normana Wight. It was woven by Merrill Dumbrell, who explored a range of approaches to form and colour, developing delicate colour mixes through a series of samples prior to commencing the tapestry. Although the ATW had worked with figurative imagery, this was the first official portrait in tapestry.

Dame Elisabeth’s enthusiasm for tapestry was infectious and she shared this passion generously. Her legacy lives on in numerous tapestries she funded for public enjoyment in buildings such as the National Gallery of Victoria Great Hall tapestries designed by Roger Kemp AO OBE and ‘The Pavilion Suite’, four tapestries translated from delicate watercolours by Mary Macqueen that hang in the Arts Centre Melbourne. The Australian Tapestry Workshop was just one of many wonderful causes Dame Elisabeth supported. Her kindness and generosity are widely remembered.

‘Portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’ is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra and was commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC.