Threads of Identity: Stories of Fashioned Portraits

6.00pm Thu 28 May 2026 | Ticketed, refreshments included
The Terrace Room, Level 6 Sir Llew Edwards Building (Building 14)
The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072

They say the clothes make the man, but does a gown make the portrait sitter? Join UQ Art Museum and Brisbane Portrait Prize to explore the stories behind fashionably dressed bodies in portraiture.

With costume scholar Dr Madeline Taylor and UQ Gender Studies Convenor Dr Cassandra Byrnes, you're invited to look closely at artist Jon Molvig's 1963 Archibald Prize entry, Joy Roggenkamp, featuring fellow artist and former student Joy Roggenkamp, from the UQ Art Collection. 

See the original painting, the garment worn by the sitter and working sketches up close as Dr Taylor and Dr Byrnes discuss how the costuming of portrait sitters painted our perceptions of fashion, gender and society throughout the history of portraiture.

Schedule:

6.00pm Venue opens, refreshments served

6.30-7.30pm Talk followed by refreshments 

8.00pm Event concludes

Presented by UQ Art Museum in collaboration with Brisbane Portrait Prize. 

Image: Installation view: New 2013: Selected recent acquisitions, UQ Art Museum exhibition, 2013.

Left & Middle: Jon Molvig, “Study for 'Joy Roggenkamp”, 1961, charcoal on paper, 76.5 x 51.0 cm. Phillipa Gowns, “Joy Roggenkamp’s dress”, c. 1963, 109 cm. Collection of The University of Queensland. Gift of Mr Ross McCowan in memory of his wife Joy Roggenkamp OAM, through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2012. 'Reproduced courtesy Otte Bartzis.

Right: Jon Molvig, "Joy Roggenkamp", 1963, oil on composition board, image 122.5 x 98.5 cm. Collection of The University of Queensland. Purchased with the assistance of Alumni Friends of The University of Queensland Inc. and Veronika Butta, 2012. Photo: Carl Warner.