It is a jewel-like piece of painting, with the lustre of a looking-glass, in which Lambert explored the distinction between how things appear in the picture or in a mirror, or how they are in life itself. He placed the artist within the painting on a separate plane from the other people within the scene, and showed him ignoring them and looking out to the viewer – observing the entire scene through a convex mirror. His hand thrusts forward, without a brush, spread wide as it would when distorted in a mirror.
Lambert's friend, artist Thea Proctor said The convex mirror "has the exquisite finish of the Dutch Masters, and shows that a present-day artist could also paint small things in a large manner."[1]
The painting was acquired by the State Library of New South Wales in 2012 as part of a bequest from art collector Helen Selle.[2]
References
^ abcdGrey, Anne. "The convex mirror c.1916". George W Lambert Retrospective. National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2021.