Charlotte Edith Estella, née White, was the daughter of Edward J. White (1831–1913), the first assistant astronomer at the Melbourne Observatory*.
Stella (as she was known) was a committed suffragette and studied piano and conducting with G. W. L. Marshall-Hall. From 1914–1924, she was married to French-born actor Ronald Le Gallienne. Together they had one child – the composer, Dorian Leon Marlois Le Gallienne (1915–1963).
Josephine painted Stella more than once. A luminous earlier portrait captures her as a young woman, softly lit and seated in white. This later work presents a more formal, composed Stella – elegant, assured, and socially established.
This portrait of Stella last sold at auction in 1993 for AU$2,090.
Image courtesy of ‘Important Australian women artists (1993), edited by Lara Smith, The Melbourne Fine Art Gallery.
* Edward J. White was appointed by Robert Lewis John Ellery, the first Government Astronomer of Melbourne, whom Josephine also painted.
