Danelle Bergstrom

Bergstrom was born in Sydney. She attended Hunters Hill High School and studied art at the Julian Ashton school (1974-1979) and earned a Bachelors of Art Education at Alexander Mackie CAE. Her sister is Antarctic ecologist Dana Bergstrom. Bergstrom began her career in the 1980s as a high school art teacher. She moved into tertiary education as Head of Department in a visual design college in the 1990s. She began exhibiting works in the 1980s, in major art prizes and solo shows by the 1990s.[2]

Bergstrom has two works in the collection of the Australian National Portrait Gallery,[3] one of Australian aviator Nancy Bird Walton entitled Pioneer, and another work entitled Vivisector of the Australian playwright David Williamson.

Between 2007 and 2017 Bergstrom completed 24 public portrait commissions, including portraits of all six Chief Justices of the Northern Territory Supreme Court as part of the court's centenary celebration. These are exhibited in the main hall of the Supreme Court in Darwin.[4][2] Many of her commissioned portraits are found in the collections of Australian courthouses and universities.[5][6]

Bergstrom has been a finalist of the Australian portrait prize, the Archibald Prize, for painting notable Australians: 1995 singer/songwriter Jon English[7] - Packing room prize winner, artist John Firth Smith, 1998[8] and 2001, artist Margaret Olley, 2003, artist Kevin Connor, 2006, industrialist and patron of the arts Franco Belgiorno-Nettis - highly commended, actor Jack Thompson, 2007 - Packing Room Prize,[9] composer Peter Sculthorpe, 2008, and artist Guy Warren, 2016.[10]

She has won the People Choice Award and the Portia Geach Memorial Portrait Prize at the SH Irvin Gallery five times,[11] including for a portrait of Australian dancer Janet Vernon and choreographer Graeme Murphy in 2013.

Bergstrom is known for works inspired by the historic township of Hill End where she moved with her two children, son Shannan and daughter Alexandra in 1997.[12]

• "Artist's journey of discovery sheds new light on home"[13]
• "Whisper - John McDonald Essay"[14]
• Danelle Bergstrom collection Vaga 2017[15]
• "Ore What" by Peter Adams ISBN NUMBER: 978-0-9757813-3-3, pp. 46-52

• Official website
• Gallery bio