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Marie and Robert Atkinson were the beloved grandparents of Beth Barrett-Lennard. They were married at St Mary’s Perth in 1939. It was a society wedding which had a wonderfully descriptive piece written about it in the newspaper. Marie was a seamstress and a hat maker, hence the inclusion of fabrics and buttons. Robert worked at Lohmann’s wool stores in Fremantle; it was his job to sort the wool. Beth remembers him as a big, quiet man with huge very soft hands from working with the lanolin.

The Atkinson’s loved going to the horse races. Marie was always immaculately dressed with matching hat and bag. The story goes that Robert’s horse won him $10,000 on a race. With the money Robert bought their second home in Albany. Robert grew prize winning Dahlia’s; they had a beautiful garden overlooking the sea in Albany.

Beth Barrett-Lennard : This painting represents my grandparents life, the things they spoke of with love and other things I remember them for.  They were a large part of my life and their passing was very sad.  To have something that is dedicated to and reminds me of their life is very special.