It was an offer Catherine Hunter could not refuse. The Walkley-nominated documentary director – whose films on Sidney Nolan, Margaret Olley, Ben Quilty and architect Glenn Murcutt are considered classics of the genre – was, in fact, completely taken aback.

“How would you like to join me for a couple of days with Jeffrey Smart at his home in Tuscany?” asked Barry Pearce, now emeritus curator of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of NSW. “And bring Bruce Inglis [Hunter’s collaborator, cinematographer and film editor].”