Yvonne Louis (born 1946) migrated to Australia as a child with her parents from the Netherlands.
When raging bushfires threatened her family home in the Lane Cove National Park in Sydney’s northern suburbs Yvonne managed to save the treasured Dutch heirlooms that had been handed down to her by her mother.
But the near catastrophe caused her to see these objects in a new light. She pondered especially on her favourite painting, a portrait of an elegant and mysterious young woman whom her family had once nicknamed ‘Miss Maris’. Who was she really? And who had painted her? The family suspected this was done by Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), a Dutch Neoplasticism painter often called the Father of Modern Art.
In order to research the paining and its history she travelled several times back to the Netherlands, where she was given special access to experts in the field.
Her research delivered a range of twists and turns and she decided to write a book about it: A Brush with Mondriaan.
An interview with Yvonne regarding her journey.
The book is also available in the library of the DACC
Interview with Yvonne Louis 2015
YouTube: Reading and Kids with Mrs. Yvonne Louis
