[Young woman in a striped gown]

Janet Agnes Cumbrae Stewart was regarded as one of the leading pastel artists of her generation, both in Australia and overseas. Against family opposition, she pursued her artistic career, attending outdoor art classes with John Mather then studying at the National Gallery School in Melbourne under Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin. Cumbrae Stewart concentrated on drawing the female nude and the intimate feminine domain. In 1922 she moved to London and travelled extensively throughout Europe for almost two decades, developing an international reputation, and returned to Australia in 1939 before the outbreak of WWII. She exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and the Old Salon in Paris, and had works commissioned by Queen Mary. She is represented in the National Gallery of Australia and all State and many regional gallery collections.