There is a strangeness to this work due to the figure of the listener in the background. Margaret often used black to enrich the relationship between figures in a painting, here the singer almost oblivious to the listener, the details of whose shaded face are almost imperceptible. She is encapsulated by her spiritual connection to the music, her beautiful, patterned outfit suggesting she is rehearsing to perform.

The listener appears not to be looking at her but at us, the viewers, wondering at our response. It is typical of Margaret’s ability to create a narrative around the figures in her work, to sense a connection (or otherwise) and to define the manner of creation that can overtake us. The singer’s raised head to the sky suggests she is complete in her moment, complete in her ability to perform. Exactingly drawn and structured, we imagine ourselves to be her audience.

References

Gavin Fry, Margaret Woodward, Sydney, Beagle Press, 2003, Plate 41.