Bancroft's long and distinguished career includes works being held in major Australian galleries, state libraries, and international collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the London and Richard Kelton Foundation in California, USA. She is also a trailblazer in the field of Australian literature and has published 50 Aboriginal children's books.
Bancroft is a founding member and senior strategist of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative. She is a passionate advocate for artists' rights and education, and plays a leading role on the boards of numerous leading Indigenous organisations.
About her painting Rain at home 2021, Bancroft explains that it depicts "…water being delivered to our traditional lands Budjerahgum. Rain is a poetic happening, when it hits a tin roof and tinkles a rain tune while you sit under cover on the verandah, where the creek is directly in front of you and the raindrops make brilliant circle patterns that mesmerise your eyes."
Gallery Director Ingrid Hedgcock said the Gallery was excited to have Rain at home enter the collection.
"This amazing work will be enjoyed by the breadth of Gallery's visitors that come to the Tweed. We're especially excited to have the painting exhibited alongside Bundjalung artist and writer Kylie Caldwell's beautiful words that not only speak directly to the work but also Bancroft's incredible practice," Ms Hedgcock said.
Caldwell's description of the work explains the connection between the elements and how they influence us:
"Rain sings within landscapes both drenched and barren across all our Countries; a universal force that shapes our lives and lands. Bancroft's artwork explores the unassuming yet vital pleasure of connection to our surroundings, urging us to appreciate the many ways rain and water influence us. The veracity of our shared human existence is the fluid truth delivered by rain. This powerful force which shapes our landscapes also feeds - and tests - our souls."
Caldwell aptly reminds us that Bancroft's painting is "a beautiful reminder that rain still has the power to make us stop, to enjoy her voice."
