L L O Y D R E E S

Born 1895, Draughtsman, painter and printmaker

1913 His original ambition to become an architect was frustrated by his weakness in maths; in 1913 he was appointed as a junior artist in the Government Printing Office in Brisbane where he made his first print - a lithograph of the Printing Office. 1912 When he was 17 he became seriously ill, and during his recovery he was able to study art full- time at the Brisbane Technical College. He developed a style in pen, pencil and watercolour which captured the light and tone of Brisbane. His work was first shown publicly in Brisbane and after that he exhibited in and overseas in many one-man and group shows. 1917 It was some of these Brisbane drawings that attracted the attention of , publisher of the influential magazine, Art in Australia, and in 1917 he was offered a job as a commercial artist in the Smith & Julius Studio in Sydney. 1931 Married Marjory Pollard, and they went to live at Northwood, on the Lane Cove River. At the time he was concentrating on pencil drawings of Sydney, the harbour and the suburbs, and these detailed, yet idealized works assured his reputation as one of Australia’s finest draughtsmen. 1937 He gained significant international recognition when he was awarded the Silver Medal for Drawing at the 1937 Paris International Exposition. It was not until the late 1930s that he also began to be known for his oil paintings. He said that he realized then that he was starting to paint with his pencil, and that it was time to seriously devote himself to oils. However, drawing always remained an integral part of his work, either as finished works or as notes for paintings. 1942 The first of four major retrospective exhibitions of his work, organised by the Art Gallery of NSW was presented. 1950 He won the Wynne Prize for Landscape. 1951 He won the Commonwealth Jubilee Art Prize. 1969 The second of four major retrospective exhibitions of his work, organised by the Art Gallery of NSW was presented. He wrote ‘The Small Treasures of a Lifetime’. 1970 The awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Letters. 1975 He was first introduced to the technique of soft-ground etching, and then to lithography. He became very interested in the medium and, working with printers such as Max Miller and Fred Genis, he made over 100 prints. 1977 He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (C.M.G.). 1981 The third of four major retrospective exhibitions of his work, organized by the University Gallery, Melbourne was presented. 1982 He won the Wynne Prize for Landscape. 1984 The University of awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Letters. 1985 He was made Companion of the Order of Australia (A.C.). He wrote ‘Peaks and Valleys’ 1987 The City of Paris awarded him the Medaille de la Ville de Paris (Echelon Vermeil) in recognition of his international standing as an artist. He won the inaugural Jack Manton Prize. He wrote ‘An Artist Remembers’ 1988 He was included in the Australian Bicentennial Authority’s ‘Two Hundred People who made Australia Great’.

03 February 2016

Lloyd Rees died on 2nd December 1988 in . 1990 Wrote with Renée Free, ‘Lloyd Rees: the last twenty years’. (published in 1990) 1995 The fourth retrospective exhibition of his drawings was presented to mark the centenary of his birth, organized by the Art Gallery of NSW. 2002 An exhibition, ‘Lloyd Rees European Sketchbooks and related works’, was shown at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (touring exhibition). 2006 Two of his drawings were hung in the ‘50th Anniversary Exhibition’, 5th June, Australian Galleries, Melbourne 2014 One of his drawings was included in the ‘one of each’ exhibition, Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne. 2015 An exhibition, ‘Lloyd Rees Lithographs from the MRAG Collection’, Maitland Reginal Art Gallery, Maitland, NSW 2015-2016 An exhibition, ‘Painting with Pencil 1930-36’ featuring more than 90 works from public and private collections in Australia and across the world was shown at Museum of Sydney, Sydney

* Lloyd Rees is represented in all state galleries, the Australian National Gallery, and in several overseas collections.

19 June 2006