George Washington Thomas Lambert and Miss Helen Beauclerk

'Miss Helen Beauclerk' (1914) by George Washington Thomas Lambert;
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

I had never heard of the Australian painter George Washington Lambert, born on 13 September 1873 and died on 29 May 1930. In fact, I don't know Australian art at all. Lambert was a portrait painter and became a war artist during the First World War. When I googled the images of his paintings, it was the painting of Miss Helen Beauclerk that stood out for me. Helen de Vere Beauclerk (1892-1969) was a British writer. Lambert captured her face beautifully and emphasized the hands, something that he started to do with all his sitters. In this particular painting he shows Helen putting on her gloves, while stroking with her bare hand the gloved index finger on the other hand. I think it's a beautiful painting.