Gil Jamieson
Encyclopedia
Gil Jamieson was an Australia
n painter
. Jamieson was born in the central Queensland
town of Monto
in 1934 and died there in 1992.
. He objected to the labels of art commentators. He painted figurative art
works, landscape art
works, and portrait
s striking for their passionate intensity of both subject and colour. He wrestled with the tough reality of survival in the bush and lived the landscape that he painted.
He lived and worked on the land with his family raising cattle on a bush block near Monto. He embarked on extensive expeditions throughout Australia capturing the subtle beauty and magnificence of the country in gouache
s he called his 'sonnets'. His 72 foot 360 degree mural 'Jay Creek
', an oil on canvas
, painted on location in Central Australia
, his largest and a most engrossing work was painted in four days in searing heat.
Jamieson regarded himself as a self taught artist, however he attended Brisbane Central Technical College
(with Melville Haysom), 1956–57. While in Brisbane
he aspired to political cartooning, worked as a quick sketch artist outside a nightclub and held his first exhibition at a Brisbane pub
Jamieson and his wife Maureen moved from Monto to Melbourne
and his career flourished. His work was taken up by John Reed
of Heide Museum of Modern Art
where he exhibited. He developed strong friendships with fellow artists: George Johnston, Fred Williams
, John Perceval
, Edwin Tanner to name a few. These friendships sustained and affirmed his contribution to Australian art as later in his career, fellow artists such as Cliff Pugh
and Arthur Boyd
supported his work. He chose to return to the bush and relative obscurity returning regularly to exhibit in Melbourne
.
Throughout his career Jamieson had many supporters of his work including Kym Bonython and Rudy Komon. He had a long association with Rockhampton
exhibiting there and in Brisbane regularly throughout his career. Rockhampton Art Gallery toured a retrospective for two years throughout regional Australia and overseas 1997-9.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. Jamieson was born in the central Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
town of Monto
Monto, Queensland
Monto is a town in Queensland, Australia, located on the Burnett Highway north-west of Brisbane and south of Rockhampton. The town was the administrative centre of Monto Shire. At the 2006 census, Monto had a population of 1,159.-History:...
in 1934 and died there in 1992.
Career
Jamieson liked to be thought of as a RomanticRomanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
. He objected to the labels of art commentators. He painted figurative art
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
works, landscape art
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
works, and portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s striking for their passionate intensity of both subject and colour. He wrestled with the tough reality of survival in the bush and lived the landscape that he painted.
He lived and worked on the land with his family raising cattle on a bush block near Monto. He embarked on extensive expeditions throughout Australia capturing the subtle beauty and magnificence of the country in gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
s he called his 'sonnets'. His 72 foot 360 degree mural 'Jay Creek
Jay Creek, Northern Territory
Jay Creek is in the MacDonnell Ranges 45 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. It was a government settlement for Indigenous Australians which for a time in the late 1920s and early '30s included 45 children from a home named 'The Bungalow' temporarily housed in a corrugated...
', an oil on canvas
Oil on Canvas
Oil on Canvas is a live album by the British band Japan, released in 1983 by Virgin Records. Although it is a live recording of their established material, the album also contains three new studio tracks , recorded separately by Sylvian, Sylvian/Jansen and Barbieri respectively...
, painted on location in Central Australia
Central Australia
Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...
, his largest and a most engrossing work was painted in four days in searing heat.
Jamieson regarded himself as a self taught artist, however he attended Brisbane Central Technical College
Brisbane Central Technical College
The Brisbane Central Technical College was founded in 1908, and eventually became the Queensland Institute of Technology. While not able to grant bachelor's degrees, the college was able to issue diplomas which gave the recipients the right to "letters" after their name.-External links:*...
(with Melville Haysom), 1956–57. While in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
he aspired to political cartooning, worked as a quick sketch artist outside a nightclub and held his first exhibition at a Brisbane pub
Australian pubs
A public house in Australia is an establishment performing many functions, often serving alcoholic beverages, meals, and providing basic accommodation.-Origin:...
Jamieson and his wife Maureen moved from Monto to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and his career flourished. His work was taken up by John Reed
John Reed (art patron)
John Reed was an Australian art editor and patron, notable for supporting and collecting of Australian art and culture with his wife Sunday Reed....
of Heide Museum of Modern Art
Heide Museum of Modern Art
Heide Museum of Modern Art, more commonly just Heide, is a contemporary art museum located in Bulleen, east of Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum comprises several detached buildings and surrounding gardens & parklands of historical importance that are used as gallery spaces to...
where he exhibited. He developed strong friendships with fellow artists: George Johnston, Fred Williams
Fred Williams
Frederick Ronald Williams OBE was an Australian painter and printmaker. He was one of Australia’s most important artists, and one of the twentieth century’s major painters of the landscape...
, John Perceval
John Perceval
John de Burgh Perceval AO was a well-known Australian artist. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins who redefined Australian art in the 1940s...
, Edwin Tanner to name a few. These friendships sustained and affirmed his contribution to Australian art as later in his career, fellow artists such as Cliff Pugh
Clifton Pugh
Clifton Ernest Pugh AO, was an Australian artist and three-time winner of Australia's Archibald Prize. He was strongly influenced by German Expressionism, and was known for his landscapes and portraiture...
and Arthur Boyd
Arthur Boyd
Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
supported his work. He chose to return to the bush and relative obscurity returning regularly to exhibit in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
Throughout his career Jamieson had many supporters of his work including Kym Bonython and Rudy Komon. He had a long association with Rockhampton
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
exhibiting there and in Brisbane regularly throughout his career. Rockhampton Art Gallery toured a retrospective for two years throughout regional Australia and overseas 1997-9.
Exhibited
- Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne 1960
- Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney 1961
- South Yarra Gallery, Melbourne 1962
- Bonython Gallery, Adelaide 1963
- South Yarra Gallery, Melbourne 1964
- Australian Galleries, Melbourne 1966
- Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney 1967
- Bonython Gallery, Sydney 1971
- Bonython Gallery, Adelaide 1971
- John Gild Gallery, Perth 1972
- Talamo Gallery, Melbourne 1972
- Talamo Gallery, Melbourne 1973 ('Jay Creek'exhibition, 72 ft landscape from Central Aust
- Reid Gallery, Brisbane 1974
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1974
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1975
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1976
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1977
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1978
- Philip Bacon Gallery, Brisbane 1978
- CIEA Rockhamption 1978 ('Jay Creek' exhibit, opening library by HRH Princess Alexandra)
- Adelaide Festival Centre 1978 ('Jay Creek' complementary exhibit in theatre foyer)
- Bakehouse Gallery, Mackay 1978
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1979
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1980
- Realities Gallery, Melbourne 1981
- City Hall, Brisbane 1982
- Gallery Up Top, Rockhampton 1982
- Nerang Gallery, Gold Coast 1983
- Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney 1983
- Realities Gallery, Melbourne 1983
- Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, Darwin 1984
- The Schubert Gallery, Broadbeach 1985
- William Mora Gallery, Melbourne 1988.
Represented
- National Gallery of Australia;
- National Gallery of Victoria;
- Queensland Art Gallery;
- La Trobe Univ. Art Museum;
- Parliament House Australia;
- Parliament House Queensland;
- Monto Library, Queensland.
Awards
- McCaughey Prize, Melbourne, 1965;
- Maryborough Watercolour Prize, 1977;
- Bundaberg Painting Prize, 1978;
- Bundaberg Watercolour Prize 1978;
- Rockhampton Art Prize 1978.