Kerrie Lester (31 May 1953 – 5 April 2016) was an Australian artist''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb, 2016. who was a frequent finalist in the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

for portraiture, although she never won the main prize. She was born to John Lester and Dolores Metcalfe at the

Crown Street Women's Hospital Crown Street Women's Hospital (now-closed) was once the largest maternity hospital in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was located at 351 Crown Street (corner of Crown and Albion Streets), Surry Hills. The hospital was one of several ...

in Surry Hills, Sydney in 1953, and studied fine arts at the National Art School and the

Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education ''Alexander Mackie College'' was a tertiary education institution that trained school teachers in Sydney, Australia. It existed from 1958 to 1974 continuing as ''Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education'' from 1975 to 1981. In January 1982 the ...

between 1971 and 1975. She held her first solo exhibition in 1976. Lester was a finalist in the

sixteen times, but never won. She did win the associated

Packing Room Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

in 1998, for her ''Self-portrait as a bridesmaid''—an allusion to the saying "Always a bridesmaid, never the bride" in relation to her missing out on the Archibald so regularly, and she stopped entering the competition in 2012. Nonetheless, the display of her work at the shortlist exhibitions increased her profile, and the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

acquired or commissioned her portraits of

Margaret Fink Margaret Fink (born Margaret Elliott on March 3, 1933) is an Australian film producer, noted for her important role in the revival of Australian cinema in the 1970s. She was educated at Sydney Girls High School, East Sydney Technical College, Sy ...

, Fred Hollows, James Morrison and Cathy Freeman. She was also a finalist in the Portia Geach Memorial Award nine times, and was a regular finalist and exhibitor in the Wynne Prize and Sir John Sulman Prize group exhibitions. In 2011, she won the Mosman Art Prize for her painting ''Out on a Limb''. In 2014, she was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, stopping treatment after two

stem cell transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produce ...

s failed to stop the progression of the disease. She died on 5 April 2016, aged 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Kerrie 1953 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Australian painters 21st-century Australian painters National Art School alumni Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Archibald Prize Packing Room Prize winners People educated at Pymble Ladies' College