BROWN, VINCENT (1901-2001)

"Au Plein Soleil" (1940)
oil on board
50.5 x 39.5cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Melbourne
 
Brown is a significant but overlooked Australian Modernist. He played a significant role in the introduction of modernist principles to Queensland art. He was the first locally-based artist to fully embrace and celebrate the visual lexicon of the modern movement, yet his beginnings in art were inspired by the work of JJ Hilder, and he modelled his work on Hilder’s subtle and nuanced washes. From 1936 to 1939, Brown attended the Slade School of Fine Art and the Grosvenor School of Modern Art under Iain McNab. First-hand experiences of the modern art movement gained in London shaped the development of Brown’s subsequent career. He returned to Australia in 1940 but returned to the UK in 1948, where he remained for the majority of his life. His works are represented in most National & State Galleries in Australia, particularly QAGOMA.