Bringing to light the art and life of Derwent Lees (1884-1931), an Australian painter who studied and taught at the Slade School of Art in the decade preceding and including the First World War, this in-depth monograph includes a complete catalogue of the artists known works, in all media.
A precocious talent, within a short career Lees exhibited at the Goupil, Chenil and Alpine Club Galleries, and at the 1913 New York Armory Show. Embedded within London's art world, he counted Augustus John, J.D. Innes and Ambrose McEvoy as his close friends. Tragically, his promising career was cut short when he was confined to mental asylums from 1919. This publication provides a definitive account of Lees's life and impressive body of work and will stand as a primary reference resource on the artist for many years to come.
Preface;
1. A Colonial Boy: 18841905;
2. The Young Artist: 19051906:
3. Mentors and Masters: 19071908;
4. A New Beginning: 19081910;
5.
Confidence in the Southern Light: 1910;
6. Of Mountains and Lakes: 1911;
7.
Mastering Colour: 1912;
8. Reaching his Peak: 1913;
9. Marriage and South
Again: 19131914;
10. Joy and Pain: 19141915;
11. The Decline: 1916-1918:
12. The Enclosed World: 1918-1928:
13. End and Aftermath: 1928-1967;
Appendix; Landscape and Geolocation; References and Notes; Catalogue
Raisonné; Acknowledgements; Image Credits; Index
Lynn Davies, an academic research librarian and digital curator spent much of her career at the University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia. She has a particular interest in late-19th-century Australian social history, with an emphasis on little-known Tasmanians, and has written biographical articles, established a social history museum, and created art and optics digital archives. She has lived in Hobart, her and Derwent Leess birthplace, and Collioure, France, for the last 20 years.
