Detail from Anguish (Fr. Angoisse) by August Friedrich Schenck. 

As a Mother and Artist, I was keen to see the National Gallery of Victoria’s newly curated exhibition from their collection, Mother.

Before entering, I see a wall that reads, ‘It is tough to be a Mother’ – Tracey Moffatt, 2009.  OK, this is not going to be a religious-led Madonna and Child iconography showcase or images of the romanticised mother.  Entering an a/v room, falling into a bean bag, I watched a twenty minute montage of memorable images from film and television, a collaboration between Tracey Moffatt and Gary Hillberg. It was stirring, poignant, and then some well-known comedy mothers with child.

          
Photos:  Film and television “mother’ scenes from Tracey Moffatt and Gary Hillberg.

“Mother” covers the breadth and maternal breath from pregnancy through birth, love, loss, grief. It is a commanding exhibition.

Religious works are included. Jesus and his mother Mary are perhaps the most well-known mother and son across Christian Western and Eastern worlds.  There are many throughout art history. The descent from the cross interests me, seeing how an artist will interpret Mary when her son is placed in her arms after being crucified. Usually, her face is sorrowful, forlorn, eyes downcast as in (German-Flemish artist) Hans Memling’s The Man of Sorrows in the arms of the Virgin in oils and gold leaf on a wood panel.  It’s a beautiful artwork.

The “descent” image that has stayed with me is in Basilica of Montserrat outside Barcelona. Unusually, Mary’s eyes look upwards, despairing, asking “why?”.  It’s compelling.
     
Photos:  Flanders “The Virgin and Child”; Bernardo Cavallino “The Virgin Annunciate”; Hans Memling “The Man of Sorrows in the arms of the Virgin”:  (not in exhibition)  Basilica of Montserrat, Barcelona. 

Lullaby
To me, a lullaby is a gentle song, often while cradling your baby, or singing them to sleep. John Henry Lorimer’s Lullaby portrays a typical upper class Victorian setting, when nannies were responsible for raising the children from the time of birth. His painting depicts the artist’s family nanny, watching over his newly born nephew.

In shocking contrast, Karla Dickens’ The Weight of Grief illustrates our shameful ‘stolen generation’ history. An indigenous mother falls to her knees as her baby is taken away by a white man.   Alongside the artwork, is Karla’s lullaby-like poem, Lost Milk (below).
     
Photos:  John Henry Lorimer “Lullaby”; Karla Dickens “The Weight of Grief”

Lost Milk
Hush a-bye
the glowing moon lights sad songs
across old countries
sinking in shallow sleep
dreams of endless lost
I hold you in my arms

Hush a-bye
the new moon rises over dry tears
across old rivers
for my sweet lonely one
hidden by strange lands
I hold you in my arms

Hush a-bye
the dark moon grieves
across old western skies
connected to my breast
crying to unknown smiles
I hold you in my arms

Hush a-bye
the blue moon weeps
across old barren valleys
searching for your smell
cords wrapped around deep wombs
I hold you in my arms

Hush a-bye
the waxing moon searches
across old warrior paths
nestling arching breasts
memories keep eye contact
I hold you in my arms

Hush a-bye lullaby
never goodbye
I hold you in my arms
– Karla Dickens

MY MOTHER, MY CHILD
Exhibiting more than 200 artworks, Mother is an intelligent and emotional journey that crosses cultures and generations.  If is difficult to select only a couple of artworks to grasp this, but here are a couple that resonated with me:

David Mowaijarlai “I am Banggai”  (natural pigments on canvas).  This is his own conception relative to his Ngarinyin beliefs that a child’s spriit lives in waterholes until found by their mother. The spirit child calls out to the mother in a dream before entering her womb. What a remarkable tribute to his mother, so deeply moving.

David Hockney “My Mother with a Parrot.” (etching and aquatint).  Everything Hockney does impresses.  This is an engaging sketch, and I’m a bird lover. I could have afternoon tea with his mum.

George Browning “Marsupial Mother” (oil on paper on cardboard). Animals are represented in the exhibition.  The deep earthy tones and textures, a mother keeping her babies safe underground, leaped out at me.
       
Photos: David Mowaijarlai “I am Banggai”; David Hockney “My Mother with a Parrot.”; George Browning “Marsupial Mother”

THE DEPTHS OF MOTHERHOOD
Some of the language and descriptive images in the Mother exhibition is intense: anger, silenced, trauma, invisible.

“Entre’acte”. Hayley Millar Baker writes, “She is conditioned to suppress her emotions, project strength and persevere in a society that offers little space or understanding for her experiences.”

Joanne Leonard’s 29 pc collage prints, “Journal of a Miscarriage” is palpable as you walk through her pain.

Judith Wright’s “A Journey” is a procession of figures made from various objects, representing the death of her young daughter.  The installation envisages a life beyond her personal loss.

“Anguish” by August Friedrich Schenck is usually housed across the road in NGV’s International 19thC salon. It is one of the gallery’s earliest acquisitions. Painted in oils (1878) Anguish is large and startling. A ewe stands over her dead lamb as an ominous murder of crows encircles them (detail above).
        
Photos: Hayley Millar Baker “Entre’acte”’; Joanne Leonard “Journal of a Miscarriage” (2 images); Judith Wright “A Journey”; August Friedrich Schenck “Anguish”.

I sketched Davida Allen’s colourful “Baby”

Photo: Gallery sketching

The exhibition is a deep exploration of the many parts that make a “Mother”.  At the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square, Level 3, until 26 July 2026.

Yvonne Koolmatrie
“This is for all mothers who just want to keep their babies close and safe.”

Photo: Yvonne Koolmatrie “Weaver’s baby in coolamon”.

© 2026 text and photography Pamela Reid