The Australian in Paris
Portland, Victoria, holds the beginning of Agnes Noyes Goodsir. Born in 1864 to David James Cook Goodsir and Elizabeth Archer, she grows up as one of eleven children. The path toward a canvas starts at the Bendigo School of Mines and Industries under Arthur T. Woodward. By 1899, a raffle in Bendigo helps fund her departure for Europe. She arrives in Paris with a hunger for formal training, enrolling in the Académie Delécluse, the Académie Colarossi, and the Académie Julian. Under Jean-Paul Laurens, she refines a technique that favors the weight of oils over the lightness of watercolours.
The scene shifts to London in 1906. She moves between the two great art capitals, shuttling through the early twentieth century before finally settling on the Left Bank at 18 rue de l'Odéon in 1921. This is a period of intense personal and professional convergence. Beside her is Rachel Dunn, known as Cherry. They live together as companions; Cherry becomes both a muse and a frequent subject. In works like The Parisienne, the gaze is direct. There is no flattery here, only a controlled composition and psychological engagement.
A Life in Portraits
Her studio becomes a crossroads for the notable. The faces she captures are diverse and heavy with historical weight:
- Bertrand Russell
- Leo Tolstoy
- Ellen Terry
- Banjo Paterson
- Benito Mussolini
The work is disciplined. While she produces still lifes and interiors, her strength lies in the portrait. She uses clothing, expression, and even the presence of bare skin to challenge the patriarchal expectations of her era. Her paintings often feature symbols of androgyny and gender equality. In 1926, she achieves a significant professional milestone when she is elected to France's Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
A brief return to Australia in 1927 brings her work back to the Macquarie Galleries in Sydney and the Fine Arts Gallery in Melbourne. The reception is loud. She returns to Paris, the place where her life and art are most deeply entwined. As health declines in the 1930s, the scale of her work shifts. Confined more frequently to her studio, she turns toward the quiet study of light and shadow through still lifes, such as her 1930 study of lemons.
Legacy and Finality
The end comes in Paris in 1939. She leaves much of her estate to Rachel Dunn. They are eventually laid to rest in the same grave outside the city. Her presence remains in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Bendigo Art Gallery. The Goodsir Scholarship at Bendigo stands as a lingering connection to her early training. In Canberra, Goodsir Place serves as a permanent marker of her name.
