A new award to honour the name and legacy of the great Australian landscape artist Lloyd Rees was recently announced. It will be awarded to the painting that best demonstrates light in the landscape.
A Tasmanian initiative, the $10k award has been established by Colville Gallery, which will also offer a $1,500 People’s Choice Award. The major judge for the inaugural award will be Hendrik Kolenberg, Senior Curator of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Kolenberg knew Lloyd Rees and has published a number of books on the artist. The family of Lloyd Rees, who live in Hobart, has endorsed the award.
Rees (1895–1988) had an international reputation and strong links with Hobart, France and Italy, outside of his home in Sydney. He exemplified outstanding Australian landscape painting. His principle of ‘light in the landscape’ will encapsulate the essence of this award, which welcomes paintings in any style from realist through to abstract, underpinned by strong drawing and draughtsmanship qualities.
Lloyd Rees is loved in Australia; as much for himself as he is for being one of the great interpreters of Australian landscape. “Except in my early years, realism has never been my aim,” Rees once said. “In the first case, the inspiring moment would come from nature; a glimpse of exciting shapes and forms, or a passing mood of light or air. These would be fixed in the memory by a sketch, often very slight, and from this the picture would grow”.
Entry is open to any Australian artist. The finalist shortlist of paintings will be displayed along with the winning entry in an exhibition at Colville Gallery, in Salamanca Place, Hobart.
Entries close 14 June 2013
www.colvillegallery.com.au
