Judith (Judit) Cassab (Kaszab)CBE, AO (Part 2)

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JUDITH CASSAB (Kaszab Judit) CBE, AO, artist, painter-portraitist, writer (1920 – )

Part 2 (Arrival in Australia)

In Australia, she quickly gained a reputation for her unique expressionist style and true interpretation abilities that captured it could be said, even the soul of the subject. Accurate in detail in the execution of her portraiture, Judith became a recognised painter in her own right, without having to be reclaimed by feminist critics and art historians.

In 1960, and again in 1967, she won the nationally coveted art award, the Archibald Prize as the first woman who won the major award twice. As a prolific worker, she was known to be able to paint portraits in a single sitting if necessary. Judith\’s portraits have won many major awards, the Australian Women’s Weekly women’s prize (1955 and 1956) and the Helena Rubinstein Prize (1964 and 1965).

In June 1969 Judith Cassab was appointed as a Commander of the British Empire ‘ in recognition of service to the visual arts’. In 1980\’s, among the notable Australians whom Judith Cassab painted were: Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Robert Helpmann, Peter Sculthorpe, Donald Friend, Lloyd Reees, Sir Warwick Fairfax, Sir Frank Packer, NSW Premier Robert Askin, Margaret Whitlam, Margaret Olley, Morris West, Thomas Keneally, Supreme & High Court Judges, Chiefs of Staff, Admirals, etc.

On 26 January 1988 Australia Day, she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, again in recognition of service to visual arts’. Following the publication of her book titled ‘ Diaries’ that she worked on over a lifetime with deep insight, observation and experiences in 20th century central-Europe. In March 1995 the University of Sydney conferred upon her the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Hon. PhD). Entering the same book, in 1996 Judith also won the prestigious Nita Kibble Literary Award, for the best Australian book for woman writers.

Upon suggestions by her good friend, the painter Desiderius Orban, Judith decided to visit the outback to view and absorb the unique landscape, the impressive rock formations, the changing of colours, not least the Aboriginal people and stockmen, all of which she found fascinating and inspirational. The portraitist embraced the spirituality she gained and incorporated outback landscapes to stretch her field of excellence.

Although Judith Cassab was relatively unknown in Hungary, in 2003 for the very first time her works were exhibited independently at the Vasarely Museum of Budapest where the public was able to admire a wide-ranging selection of her paintings from portraits to Australian landscapes and reclaim her with pride as one of theirs.

As an Australian woman of Hungarian roots and cultural heritage and an internationally recognised portraitist-painter, her works are in collections of the following galleries: The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney; The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo,VIC; Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Hobart; New England Regional Gallery, Armidale, NSW. Judith Cassab paintings could also be found in collection of: The National Portrait Gallery, London and the National Gallery, Budapest.

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