Janet Borchardt: Victor Crttenden

The Artist

Janet Borchardt  was born in New Zealand in 1916 and studied under Jack Carrington Smith in Hobart and Melbourne at the CAE and Victorian Artists Society during the 1960s. Best known as a traditional artist and  painter, Janet exhibited in Melbourne during the 1970s and 1980s and winning a number of art  show awards in the process.  Janet died  in 1988.

The Work of Art

Created in using  oils onto canvas in 1977, this portrait depicts Victor Crittenden, the founding librarian of  the Canberra College of Advanced Education, the forerunner of  the University of Canberra. Victor  served in that position from 1968 to 1986.  Victor is also known for his work as a bibliographer, historian and a dedicated gardener.  In 2010 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia "for service to the arts as a researcher, author and publisher, particularly through the biographical and literary study of the Australian colonial period. Victor passed away in 2014 and this portrait was gifted to the University from his family.