Mayoral Portraits, Edward Wallace Best, Dora McRae, 1971
Summary
Councillor Edward ‘Ted’ Wallace Best (1917–92) became lord mayor of Melbourne in 1969 and remained in office until 1971. Best first came to public prominence for running on the athletics track rather than for municipal office. He represented Australia at the 1938 British Empire Games, in Sydney, winning three bronze medals on the track: the men’s 100 yards, 200 yards and 4 x 110-yard relay.
Painted in Best’s final year in office, this traditional half-length portrait depicts him in his mayoral robes and chain of office, his confident gaze expressing an ease with his political role. Dora McRae’s formal composition, with its low, oblique perspective and quiet, ‘masculine’ background, brings a certain gravitas to her subject, emphasising Best’s commanding presence and the pomp and ceremony of his public office. The rich gold of the brocade and mayoral chain against the deep blue of Best’s robes signal the formality of his office, as does the ornate frame housing the portrait.
Dora McRae (1908–2003) was born Dora Hawthorne Taite in East Melbourne in the early 20th century. She began painting around 1940, studying at the Prahran Technical College and then at Heatherley School of Art in London. Initially, McRae was a painter of landscapes and floral still lifes, but later became known for her portraits, honing her skills on her travelling subjects while teaching art on P&O cruises. She is remembered through the annual Dora McRae figurative drawing program at VCA School of Art, funded through the foundation of her friend Lionel Gell.
