Bertram Mackennal was one of the most influential Australian artists of the late nineteenth century, establishing studios in London and Paris and staging regular exhibitions in major European cities. Actively involved in bringing the Art Nouveau movement to England, Mackennal often adopted aspects of this style, as well as being influenced by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Truth 1984 is one of a series of sculptures that Mackennal made on allegorical themes. The young woman with flowing hair and arched wings, who holds a disc to her chest, personifies the attribute referred to in the work’s title. The disc may represent the sun, which casts light on all things, or the mirror, which does not lie. The ornately carved base epitomises the design principles and generative movement of Art Nouveau.