Tootsie

Oil on Canvas

At the age of twenty, when most youths celebrate an exciting and unknown future, Ken Atherton (Tootsie) was dealing with a completely different reality.
In 1953, he was jailed in Pentridge for two years solely for being gay. Working at the Cheltenham Benevolent Home for the Elderly, he was arrested along with seven other work colleagues.
This altered his life immeasurably.

But then, at 62, Tootsie embarked on a grand new adventure. A mate invited him to dress in drag and perform in the Melbourne pub circuits. Drag wasn’t something that Toots usually did, but he thought, ‘Why not? Let’s give it a go!’
 
And so he did, becoming quite famous throughout the drag scene and a familiar and entertaining figure throughout Melbourne.
 
Tootsie passed away a few weeks after seeing this portrait. For a man who was shunned in his youth for being gay, to be now celebrated meant so much.
He was thrilled to be painted and, along with his performing career, viewed the recognition as a significant symbol – finally, he was accepted for being who he was.
Tootsie’s optimism so inspired me. His story is a testament to the fact that things can change, and as a society, we can grow and develop a deeper understanding of one another.