Setting the Scene for 100 Years of John Rigby - Catalogue 2021

Setting the Scene for

100 YEARS OF JOHN RIGBY

Red Hill Gallery

Setting the Scene John Rigby is a celebrated Brisbane artist whose contribution to the Queensland cultural landscape is spectacular. Deeply respected by his peers, patrons and institutions alike, Rigby's colourful interpretations of Queensland landscapes are a salute to the warm tropics and it's people.

With such a rich history and presence in the artistic oeuvre of Queensland, the focus of this event is to honour the love and affiliation he held for his home.

This exhibition previews an upcoming February 2022 exhibition and retrospective, ‘100 Years of John Rigby’ at Red Hill Gallery.

Red Hill Gallery would like to thank John's children; Mark, Tony and Renée for their assistance in this exhibition.

Condensed Biography 1922 1937 1942

Born in Brisbane, Australia.

Enrolled at the Brisbane Central Technical College.

Enlisted in the Army serving in the 101 Australian Tank Attack Regiment in Australia and in the 1st Australian Army Intelligence in Papua New Guinea.

1948 - 50 1955 1958

Enrolled at the East Sydney Technical College.

Received the Italian Government Travelling Art Scholarship.

Returns to Australia and has first solo exhibitions in Sydney and Brisbane.

1960 1981

Commences travelling and paints landscapes across Australia.

Commences international travel to the United States, South Pacific, Europe, Africa and Asia.

2012

Passes away in Brisbane, aged 90.

John Rigby 2003 - In His Studio

Brisbane River c. Early 1990's 91 x 112 cm Oil on Canvas

$15,000

Rigby painted scenes around the Brisbane River many times during his life, selling his first landscape aged 18 in 1941.

Setting the Scene For 100 Years of Rigby

Western Suburbs, Brisbane 1990 91 x 92 cm $15,500

Oil on Canvas on Board

This

work

was

one

of

a

number

of

Brisbane

western

suburbs

paintings

produced in the early 1990s that captured areas such as Paddington, Red Hill and Spring Hill.

Mosman Gorge (N. Qld) 1997 61 x 71 cm Oil on Canvas

$9,950

Over many decades, Rigby made numerous solo trips throughout Queensland to conduct art classes, judge art prizes, or paint – often in combination. John and his wife Margaret also loved to get away together and this painting was

.

one of a number completed on a trip to North Queensland

Setting the Scene For 100 Years of Rigby

Road to Bunya Mountains c. 2004 51 x 61 cm Oil on Paper

$5,500

Rigby always liked getting out on the road during his lifetime and capturing the countryside.

The Gorge, Tamborine Mountain c. 1990's 112 x 122.5 cm $18,950

Oil on Canvas

Children

were

often

fascinated

watching

Rigby

creating

an

location, as was the case with this one at Mt Tamborine in 2005.

artwork

on

John Rigby 2005 - Mount Tamborine

St. Bees Bay, North Queensland 2003 76.7 x 91.8 cm Oil on Canvas on Board

$15,500

In mid-2003, aged 80, Rigby travelled north on one of his many trips to the Whitsunday area and painted on both St Bees Island and Keswick Island off Mackay. Upon his return to Brisbane, he wanted to include a couple of new works in the book John Rigby: Art and Life, which was already at the printer in Singapore and undergoing final proofing. Two existing works were dropped from the book at the last minute to accommodate Rigby’s latest paintings, including this one.

Setting the Scene For 100 Years of Rigby

Patterned Hills c. 2007 51 x 61 cm Oil on Canvas

$5,500

A landscape in SE Queensland. Painted when Rigby was in his mid-eighties.

Palm Bay, Long Island 2003 84 x 91 cm Acrylic on Canvas

$16,950

This work was produced in late 2006 during Rigby’s last trip to the Whitsunday Islands. He was almost 84 and accompanied this time by his wife Margaret and daughter Renée.

Setting the Scene For 100 Years of Rigby

Planet Downs 1993 26.8 x 75 cm Oil on Paper

Rigby

produced

$6,500

this

painting

while

staying

hectare cattle station in central Queensland.

at

Planet

Downs,

a

104,000

Sideshow Alley, Brisbane Exhibition 2004 90 x 120 cm Oil on Canvas

$19,500

Although in his eighties, Rigby made his last visit to Sideshow Alley during the Brisbane Royal National Association (RNA) Exhibition in the early 2000s to get inspiration for this work. When he was living in the Glass House Mountains area in the 1930s, he always looked forward to his annual train trip to Brisbane in August to visit the Ekka while staying with his grandmother in Brunswick Street near the Exhibition Grounds. His visits to the Ekka spanned almost 70 years. Rigby won a number of RNA art awards and later judged numerous RNA art competitions from the 1960s to the mid-1980s.

Setting the Scene For 100 Years of Rigby

Bushfire c.2003 49.5 x 59 cm Oil on Canvas

Painted

in

vegetation.

SE

$6,500

Queensland

and

capturing

the

'rebirth'

of

some

green

Japanese Garden, Mt Coot-tha Gardens 2006 107 x 113 cm Oil on Linen Canvas

$19,950

The last artwork Rigby painted was at the age of 83 at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Toowong, in July 2006. Over the course of almost 70 years, he had captured scenes in both the City Gardens and the newer botanic gardens at the base of Mt Coot-tha.

John Rigby 2006 - Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha

Collinsville (Mine) 1981 62 x 76 cm Oil on Canvas

$8,950

In 1981, Rigby was invited to paint at the Collinsville mine and was given a 4WD to explore the area. He also captured scenes of miners at work. Some works appeared in a special mining exhibition in City Hall.

Setting the Scene For 100 Years of Rigby

Collinsville (Town) 1981 62 x 76 cm Oil on Canvas

$4,950

In 1981, while Rigby was invited to visit the Collinsville mine, he also produced this painting in the small town of Collinsville, Qld.

Border Ranges 2006 84 x 92 cm Oil on Canvas

Having

spent

$8,950

some

of

his

early

childhood

in

the

mountains

around

the

Queensland/NSW border area, Rigby always liked capturing this area during a lifetime of painting. With his son Tony, this scene was created looking east from The Pinnacle in the Border Ranges National Park.

Setting the Scene For 100 Years of Rigby

Mt Barney, Queensland c. 2000 76 x 121.5 cm Oil on Canvas

Mt

Barney,

Queensland’s

$15,000

fourth

highest

peak

located

near

the

Qld/NSW

border and within a World Heritage listed area, was a feature that Rigby knew well from childhood and painted over the decades. In the late 1920s/early 1930s, the Rigby family lived in nearby Palen Creek where his father worked at a sawmill as a steam engineer and saw doctor.

A Rare Opportunity Rigby's children have decided to open their Father's archive and release a limited amount of his paintings for acquisition. This is a rare opportunity to invest in an iconic artwork from renowned Queensland artist John Rigby.

As former Director of the Queensland Art Gallery, Doug Hall reflected upon Rigby's contribution to the industry, "... his achievements have left a permanent mark on Queensland and Australian Art".

Red Hill Gallery is proud to host this exhibition and honoured to have these works available for purchase.

Contact the gallery for further information.

redhillgallery.com.au 61 Musgrave Road Red Hill, Qld 4059, Australia

Monday to Sunday 10am - 4pm

+61 (07) 3368 1442 art@redhillgallery.com.au redhillgallery