Lloyd Rees AC CMG (1895-1988), artist, author and teacher, became well known as a young man for his meticulous, almost obsessively detailed, renderings of buildings around Brisbane. He had his first solo exhibition at the Macquarie Galleries, Sydney in 1931. During trips to Europe in the 1920s, 1950s, 1960 and 1970s Rees was particularly struck by the countryside of Tuscany; over many decades his European and Australian landscapes, rendered in an unpretentious style combining careful analysis, immediacy and sensuality, won wide recognition from both the public and the art world. There was a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1942; other major retrospectives were held in 1969-70 and 1981. He was made Companion of the Order of Australia in 1985 and in 1987, the year his autobiography was published, he received the Medaille de la Ville de Paris in recognition of his standing as an artist. Rees was also a popular teacher at the University of Sydney from 1946 to 1970. He kept painting until his death in Hobart at the age of 93.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rex Dupain 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
© Max Dupain/Copyright Agency, 2024
Rex Dupain (15 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Johanna McMahon revels in history and mystery in pursuit of a suite of unknown portrait subjects.
Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.
