Portrait of Dr Valerie Pearl

Maggi Hambling’s Portrait of Mrs Anne Lonsdale (2002) and Portrait of Dr Valerie Pearl (1995) are emblematic of her dynamic portrait style. The painting and drawing capture key figures in the life of Murray Edwards College. Anne Lonsdale, the third President of the college (1996–2008), and Valerie Pearl, the college’s second President (1981–1995), who played a pivotal role in developing The Women’s Art Collection, are depicted with Hambling’s signature energetic touch. Both portraits are composed with rapid, gestural marks that cling to a stark white ground, creating a sense of movement and immediacy. Within these turbulent strokes of paint or pencil, Hambling distils the essence of her subjects, allowing looser, more abstracted forms to radiate an emotional depth. There is an ever-present tension in these works, between control and spontaneity, presence and ephemerality, reflecting the artist’s commitment to capturing life as it is felt in the moment.