Portrait Anecdotes
by Heide Smith
The Sitting
Dymphna Clark was the matriarch of the Clark household, mother to six children and priceless assistant to her husband Professor Manning Clark in editing, proof reading and researching his many publications. She was also a distinguished scholar in her own right, gaining an honours degree at Melbourne University, where her father was the Head of Germanic Languages. Further doctoral studies in Germany as a Humboldt scholar, were interrupted by the impending war, and she joined Manning at Oxford , where they were married in 1939. Fluent in eight languages, Dymphna lectured in German at the ANU, and translated the botanist Baron Charles von Hugel’s “New Holland Journals 1833-34”
Dymphna Clark was a passionate believer in Aboriginal Reconciliation, being a driving force behind the formation of the Aboriginal Treaty Committee.
The sitter
I first met Dymphna after I had photographed Manning Clark in “the loft” of their home in Forrest. Maybe it was her European background, or the fact that her German was better than my English, but we formed a bond very quickly. Dymphna was a very caring and warm friend to a great many people; not only was she an intellectual with great depths, but she was also a very practical and no nonsense person. I spent a fair bit of time in the Clark household in Canberra, and at their beach cottage at Wapengo. To portray Dymphna did not come easily to me, perhaps because I felt so close to her, but also because one image could not possibly capture all her different qualities. In this shot, she had just come out of her garden with some Hellebores flowers which she had picked for me. Gardening was one of Dymphna’s passions, and our property now contains many plants grown from seeds and cuttings from the Clark’s garden. The tree was an integral part of this image, adding strength to the composition, and complimenting the strength and composure of the subject.
any questions
If you have any questions about this sitting, feel free to contact me, or, to learn more about Dymphna and Manning Clark, visit;
