Peter Weiss AO (1935–2020), cultural benefactor, was born into a well-to-do family in Vienna, which they fled in the late 1930s. In Sydney, his parents encouraged his love of music. He learned the cello, graduating from the Conservatorium of Music, and then moved to London. On return to Australia he launched his eponymous fashion line in 1975. His contribution to arts philanthropy was significant, supporting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Opera House and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, among many other organisations. His gift of one million dollars established the Instrument Fund of the Australian Chamber Orchestra; in 2016, he bought a 1729 Guarneri cello for the company. After being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018, he donated four million dollars to the Westmead Institute for Medical Research.
Kerrie Lester's portrait shows a pensive Weiss with rehearsing members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, including violinist Richard Tognetti in the black cap. Lester later recalled the sitting for the portrait: 'I went out to Kings Cross where they were rehearsing. Peter was lying on the stairs watching and listening to them. It was a massive portrait of thirteen people and a lot of work to do the stitching.'
Gift of Peter Weiss AO 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Kerrie Lester/Copyright Agency, 2024
Peter Weiss AO (1 portrait)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Eye to Eye is a summer Portrait Gallery Collection remix arranged by degree of eye contact – from turned away with eyes closed all the way through to right-back-at-you – as we explore artists’ and subjects’ choices around the direction of the gaze.
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