Image: Artist Kevin Connor sketching in a Sydney cafe; inset, Connor’s portrait of Sir Frank Kitto.
One of UNE’s artistic treasures – the Archibald Prize-winning portrait of former Chancellor, The Honorable Sir Frank Kitto, KBE – is again gracing our walls, after touring the country with the Art Gallery of NSW’s Archie 100 exhibition.
And last week it had a special audience, with Sir Frank’s grandson Chris Thompson.
The portrait is the work of Kevin Connor, Sir Frank’s son-in-law, who only died in June, at the age of 92. Right up until his death, Kevin was a regular fixture, sketching and drinking coffee, at the Sydney (Darlinghurst) café Bill and Toni’s.
Kevin’s rendering of the renowned High Court judge won the prestigious prize in 1975, in what was his third entry featuring the same subject, after unsuccessful tilts in 1961 and 1964. UNE purchased the piece from the artist in 1996 and for some time it hung in the entrance hall of Booloominbah.
“Seeing the portrait brought back memories of when it used to hang in Bool – a place where I can remember, as a child, exploring the various hallways and staircases,” said Chris, who grew up in Armidale. “I would also often watch my grandfather presiding over graduations on the Bool lawn from a top-floor balcony. He was a very humble man, despite his achievements.”
As it turned out, the Sir Frank oil would not be Kevin’s only Archibald success. He won the prize again two years later, with a portrait of sculptor and teacher Robert Klippel, and remains one of only two artists – the other is Brett Whitely – to win all three major art prizes in Australia: the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman competitions.
“I believe this particular portrait is extremely important, given the history of the artist, the subject and the fact that it now resides in an institution, UNE, that he loved dearly,” Chris said. “The honour that the university pays him via the memorial lecture is greatly appreciated by the family and all who knew him.”
You can now gaze upon Sir Frank on level 3 of the Dixson Library.