Cate Blanchett’s a cover girl with a difference in this month’s Vogue
A lockdown collaboration between an Oscar-winning actress and an Archibald Prize-winning artist was a very Aussie affair, with the stunning result gracing the cover of a special edition of Vogue.
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They were both in lockdown, on opposite sides of the world, when Archibald Prize winner Fiona Lowry painted a portrait of Cate Blanchett.
Despite having never met, the Australian star hand-picked the Sydney artist to capture her in isolation at her home in the English countryside for the cover of a special collectors’ edition of Vogue Australia.
Posing in her garden, Blanchett was photographed by her playwright husband Andrew Upton early last month, with Ms Lowry using the image to create the portrait over two “intense” weeks.
“It was a really great experience,” Ms Lowry said of working with the “inspiring” actor.
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Ms Lowry recalled first meeting Blanchett on a group phone call in April to discuss ideas.
“Obviously everyone knows how she sounds and her voice is so distinctive so it’s kind of quite startling initially when you hear her voice because it’s so familiar,” Ms Lowry said.
The pair then started emailing back and forth on concepts for the artwork, with Vogue fashion director Christine Centenera helping style the shoot from Sydney.
The end result depicts a peaceful-looking Blanchett with her eyes closed and wearing a dress by designer Susie Cave, the wife of Australian singer/songwriter Nick Cave.
Ms Lowry, who won the prestigious Archibald Prize in 2014, said Blanchett thought the painting was “wonderful”.
Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann said planning for the portrait began in March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
“We had the idea during lockdown about how do you create a cover that is somewhat reflective of what we’ve all been through but still feels collectible and special for readers,” Ms McCann said of the Blanchett June/July Vogue Australia cover, available to subscribers only from Tuesday.
“I think that if you’ve got the privilege of continuing to publish, especially in print as a magazine through this period, then you want to be putting something on people’s doorstep that feels like it’s a curated moment in time.”
Ms McCann added Blanchett was a “true artist”.
“I think that once she’s committed to a project like this, she really thinks about it deeply,” she said. “She was so interactive and made herself so available through the whole process.”
Originally published as Cate Blanchett’s a cover girl with a difference in this month’s Vogue