William Robinson AO is one of Australia’s most influential contemporary
painters, known for his distinctive and prolific output as a landscape
painter. Born in Brisbane, he trained as a teacher and studied art at
the Central Technical College (now Queensland University of Technology)
in the 1950s. His painting practice continued alongside his teaching
work and during the 1970s he moved with his wife Shirley to a small farm
in Birkdale, outside Brisbane. He came to national prominence when he
unexpectedly won the Archibald Prize in 1987 with his Equestrian self portrait.
This lithograph is a reworking of the celebrated oil painting that
features a perplexed Robinson sitting awkwardly across a stocky,
bewildered horse. Tongue in cheek, the work can be seen as a comment on
the pretentiousness that can arise from art prizes, leaning into the
parody of self-important dignitaries who sought greatness by posing on a
saddle.
Purchased 2022
© William Robinson
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