Historical information

Laurence SCOTT PENDLEBURY (1914 - 1986)
Born Melbourne

Laurence Scott Pendlebury studied at the National Gallery of Victoria School between 1932 and 1938 and then at Swinburne Technical College. He served during World War Two with the AIF between 1941 and 1945. Teaching at Swinburne Technical College between 1946 and 1963 Laurence Scott Pendlebury was head of the art school from 1963 until his retirement in 1974. He was president of the Victorian Artists’ Society from 1961 to 1963.

Awards include: Dunlop Prize in 1950, 1951, 1953 and 1954; Gibson Prize, Victorian Artists’ Society in 1956; Wynne Prize in 1956, 1957, 1960 (shared with John Perceval) and 1968; Caltex Prize in 1957; Victorian Artists’ Society Artist of the Year (shared) in 1975.

Physical description

Portrait of Nornie Gude, the artist's wife, holding a violin. Nornie Gude was a student of the Ballarat Technical Art School, a division of the Ballarat School of Mines.

Nornie Gude was the daughter of Walter Gude, a leding musician, and highly regarded teacher. She grew up in Ballarat and was educated at Loreto College. From 1931 to 1936 Nornie Gude attended the Ballarat Technical Art School, a division of the Ballarat School of Mines. She was accepted into the School at the age of 15 because she was so advanced in painting. Nornie Gude studied at Ballarat for five years before progressing to Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria School.

As a violinist Nornie Gude played for more than a decade with the Zelman Orchestra.

This work was a finalist in the 1978 Archibald Prize.