Wes Walters

Last updated

Wes(ley) Walters (1928-2014) was an Australian artist and winner of the Archibald Prize. [1] Walters was born in Mildura, Victoria, in 1928. [1] He was a realist portrait painter and abstract artist who painted nearly 200 portraits of leading Australians, especially academics, businessmen, artists, and musicians. [2] He was awarded the Minnie Crouch Prize in 1953 and 1956. He won the 1979 Archibald prize in 1980 with a portrait of Phillip Adams. He was a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 1988 and 1990. He painted a 1.3 metre high, 1 metre wide portrait of the Central Queensland University's Chancellor, Justice Stan Jones. In 1998 he painted Donald Bradman. Walters died on 19 August 2014. Although Walters had been painting in a non-figurative style since the early 1960s, he did not hold his first exhibition of abstract works until 2001. He was elected to the Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1993.

In 2009 the book 'Walters: art of realism & abstraction' by David Thomas was published.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Prize</span> Australian portraiture prize

The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919. It is administered by the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and awarded for "the best portrait, preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics, painted by an artist resident in Australia during the twelve months preceding the date fixed by the trustees for sending in the pictures". The Archibald Prize has been awarded annually since 1921 and since July 2015 the prize has been AU$100,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Whiteley</span>

Brett Whiteley AO was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. He held many exhibitions, and lived and painted in Australia as well as Italy, England, Fiji and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Beckwith McInnes</span>

William Beckwith McInnes was an Australian portrait painter, winner of the Archibald Prize seven times for his traditional style paintings. He was acting-director at the National Gallery of Victoria and an instructor in its art school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dobell</span> Australian artist

Sir William Dobell was an Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th century. Dobell won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on three occasions. The Dobell Prize is named in his honour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Olsen (Australian artist)</span> John Olsen had three children Jane , Tim author, art dealer and Louise designer and artist

John Henry Olsen AO OBE is an Australian artist and winner of the 2005 Archibald Prize. Olsen's primary subject of work is landscape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Longstaff</span> Australian painter and war artist

Sir John Campbell Longstaff was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. His cousin Will Longstaff was also a painter and war artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dargie</span> Australian painter (1912-2003)

Captain Sir William Alexander Dargie was a renowned Australian painter, known especially for his portrait paintings. He won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on eight separate occasions; a record held since 1952.

Nicholas Harding was a British-born Australian artist, known for his paintings, in particular portraits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hannaford</span> Australian realist artist

Robert Lyall "Alfie" Hannaford, is an Australian realist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Buckmaster</span> Australian painter

Ernest William Buckmaster (1897–1968) was an Australian artist born in Victoria. He won the Archibald Prize in 1932 with a portrait of Sir William Irvine. He also served as an Australian war artist during World War II.

Paul Newton is an Australian artist. He has won the Archibald Prize Packing Room Prize twice: in 1996 with a portrait of radio announcer John Laws CBE; and, again in 2001 with a portrait of characters Roy Slaven and HG Nelson.

Jenny Sages is an Archibald Prize People's Choice Award winning Australian artist born 1933 in Shanghai, China. She is known for her abstract landscape paintings and portraits. She arrived in Australia in 1948. After being expelled from East Sydney Tech, Jenny moved to New York to study at Franklin School of Art. She was a freelance writer and illustrator for Vogue Australia until the 1980s before starting full-time painting in 1985 at the age of 52. Her career transformation was greatly influenced by a trip to Kimberley, Western Australia, where she felt enchanted by the local indigenous culture. Her unique style is created using wax and pigments and the minimal use of brushes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Quilty</span> Australian artist and social commentator

Ben Quilty is an Australian artist and social commentator, who has won a series of painting prizes: the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, 2011 Archibald Prize, and 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. He has been described as one of Australia's most famous living artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Storrier</span>

Tim Storrier AM is an Australian artist who won the 2012 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize with The Lunar Savant, a portrait of fellow artist McLean Edwards.

Alexander McKenzie is an Australian contemporary artist.

The page List of Archibald Prize winners provides a summary of Archibald Prize winners.
This page provides directions to Lists of finalists of the annual Australian Archibald Prize for portraiture.

Vincent Fantauzzo, is a Melbourne-based Australian portrait artist known for his award winning portraits of Heath Ledger, Brandon Walters, Matt Moran, Emma Hack, Baz Luhrmann, Asher Keddie and his son Luca. He has won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize twice, the Archibald Packing Room Prize, and the Archibald People's Choice Award four times.

Vincent Namatjira is an Aboriginal Australian artist living in Indulkana, in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara in South Australia. He has won many art awards, and after being nominated for the Archibald Prize several times, he became the first Aboriginal person to win it in 2020. He is the great-grandson of the Arrente watercolour artist Albert Namatjira.

References

  1. 1 2 "Wes WALTERS (1928-2014)". University of Ballarat Honour Roll.
  2. James Cockington (27 May 2009). "The art of Wes Walters". The Age.
Awards
Preceded by Archibald Prize
1979
for Portrait of Phillip Adams
Succeeded by
Not awarded
(Eric Smith, 1981)