Reg Campbell

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Reg Campbell
BornReginald Earl Campbell
(1923-03-02)2 March 1923
Gladesville, New South Wales
Died 30 May 2008(2008-05-30) (aged 85)
Bathurst, New South Wales
NationalityFlag of Australia.svg  Australia
Education Self taught
Known for Portrait painting
Awards Archibald Prize People's Choice Award, 1990

Reginald "Reg" Earl Campbell (2 March 1923 – 30 May 2008) was an Australian portrait painter and self-taught artist. He was the winner of the Archibald Prize People's Choice Award in 1990 for his self-portrait. [1]

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Contents

Early years

Campbell was born in Gladesville, New South Wales, the son of Clare Campbell and enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces at West Ryde in 1941, whilst residing in Eastwood. He served as a private in the General Transport Company in New Guinea and was discharged in 1945. [2]

Gladesville, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Gladesville is a suburb in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is also considered part of the Lower North Shore.. Gladesville is located 10 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde and the Municipality of Hunter's Hill.. Gladesville is part of the federal electorates of North Sydney and Bennelong.

Second Australian Imperial Force expeditionary force during World War II

The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act (1903), neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force (PMF) could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to do so. The Second AIF fought against Nazi Germany, Italy, Vichy France and Japan. After the war, Australia's wartime military structures were demobilised and the 2nd AIF was disbanded, although a small cadre of its personnel became part of the Interim Army that was established in 1947, and from which the Australian Regular Army was formed in 1948.

Eastwood, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Eastwood is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Eastwood is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the City of Parramatta. Eastwood is in the Northern Suburbs region.

Art career

After military service, Campbell moved to Bathurst, New South Wales in the 1950s, working initially as a signwriter, [2] and later moved to live in a peaceful rural setting, outside Bathurst, where he established his gallery and completed some of his most accomplished portraits. Some of those works include the portraits of two of Bathurst’s best-known faces, those of the late Dr Brooke-Moore and former long-serving Member for Bathurst, Gus Kelly, whose portraits have hung for years in the foyer of the Bathurst Civic Centre. Lesser-known works are the portraits that Campbell painted of two other personalities of his generation, a young radio broadcaster John Laws and the television games show personality, Bob Dyer. [3]

Bathurst, New South Wales City in New South Wales, Australia

Bathurst is a country town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in Australia and had a population of approximately 35,000 as at the 2016 Census.

Christopher Augustus "Gus" Kelly was an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1925 to 1932 and again from 1935 until his death in 1967, representing the electorate of Bathurst. He held numerous ministerial positions between 1941 and 1965 in McKell Labor Government.

Richard John Sinclair Laws, CBE, also known as Lawsie, was from the 1970s until his retirement in 2007, the host of an Australian morning radio program combining music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname "the Golden Tonsils".

One of the largest works painted by Campbell was commissioned by Bathurst Rotary to celebrate the 100th Royal Bathurst Show, a massive painting of the Bathurst Showground showing all of the historic buildings with parachutists landing in the ground. Testimony to his mastery are the commissions to paint the portraits of many prominent figures in Australia and overseas including approximately 100 knights of the realm, 23 vice regal portraits in Denmark, nine bishops and archbishops and hundreds of other famous personalities including Don Bradman, Albert Namatjira and Sir Garfield Barwick. [4]

Rotary International international service organization

Rotary International is an American international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. It is a non-political and non-sectarian organization open to all people regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, or political preference. There are 34,282 member clubs worldwide, and 1.2 million individuals, known as Rotarians, have joined.

Don Bradman Australian cricketer

Sir Donald George Bradman, AC, often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has been cited as the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.

Albert Namatjira Australian painter

Albert Namatjira, born Elea Namatjira, was a Western Arrernte-speaking Aboriginal artist from the MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia. As a pioneer of contemporary Indigenous Australian art, he was the most famous Indigenous Australian of his generation.

Campbell painted numerous portraits for the Charles Sturt University and its precursor institutions, namely: [5]

Charles Sturt University public university in Australia

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Sturt, a British explorer who made expeditions into regional New South Wales and South Australia.

Clifford Douglas Blake AO is an Australian agriculturalist and educationalist who became first Vice-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University, from 1990 through to 2001 and then after his retirement from CSU in July 2001, he took up an interim Vice-Chancellor position at Adelaide University from August 2001.

Campbell was a mentor for artist, Doug Sealy and is survived by Betty-Ann, Eden, David, Joshua Campbell, Stephen and Katie Scott.

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References

  1. ↑ Winner: People's Choice 1990, Art Gallery of NSW
  2. 1 2 Bathurst and District Veterans' Community Newsletter (2008). Returned & Services League of Australia New South Wales Branch Incorporated, Bathrst Sub-Branch. Bathurst RSL Newsletter
  3. ↑ "Gifted portrait artist dies". Western Advocate. Fairfax Media. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  4. ↑ "Great Australian Artists". Showcase of Australian Art. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "History & Traditions - Vice-Chancellor Portraits". Charles Sturt University. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
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