June Mendoza

Australian portrait painter, comic book artist, illustrator, actor, entertainer (1925- ). Although regarded as one of Australia’s most important portrait painters of the twentieth century, June Mendoza was also involved in theatre and radio performance at various times. The daughter of musicians Dot Mendoza (piano) and Frederick Morton (violin), she and her brother Peter (Mendoza) were given opportunities from an early age to appear on stage in revues, musicals and opera etc, and also sometimes accompanied their mother during her variety engagements. While Peter later focused on legitimate acting, June developed a precocious talent for drawing, and eventually specialised in oil portraiture. Prior to emigrating to Britain in the late-1940s she supplemented her art income with acting and continued to do this for some time in London.