Mary Edwell-Burke Self-portrait

Mary Edwell-Burke was a regular Archibald exhibitor over four decades – often with self-portraits – including this 1932 work.

She was born Mary Burke and was the half-sister of another Archibald artist, miniaturist Bernice Edwell. To avoid censure through her mother Rose Burke’s liaison with the married Henry Edwell, mother and daughter assumed the surname Edwards.

This self-portrait, also known as Heritage, was painted at Mount Wilson, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, where Mary and Rose Edwards ran the guesthouse ‘Wildflower Hall’ in the grand mansion Dennarque. The artist sits resplendent in her garden, surrounded by animals and Australian flora.