Barry Humphries — Brilliant, brazen and soon to be bronzed

Barry Humphries By experimenting with a new material he was working on during our photo shoot and putting a monocle over his eye for effect, this would become one of my most powerful portraits. (Photo, 1971.)

Late last year, Adelaide City Council commissioned a statue of Australia’s iconic – and often controversial – actor and comedian to be created by the artist. Robert Hannaford A.M.

Independent Australia Contributor Vince Hooper commented on the commission and said it was a sign. ‘cultural health’ HE:

Soon, theatergoers passing Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theater – the stage where Humphries made his theater debut as a 19-year-old in 1953 and was later dubbed his favorite theater in the world – will be greeted by a new bronze statue. statue in his honor.”

The Adelaide statue is an important commission. ‘Budget debate’ Hooper says this is assumed to lead to anger because it’s a reminder:

‘…satire, irreverence and occasional moral disturbances are essential to cultural life.’

**This photo is part of an IA. A series that looks at Australia through the eyes of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**

This photo of Barry Humphries, National Portrait Gallery In Canberra in 2010.

Bill McAuley’s 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a student photographer at ‘The Age’ in Melbourne.

He has several published collections including ‘Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley’ and ‘Last Light on Victoria Dock, 1999’. Click to see more from Bill Here.

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