David Fairbairn (born 1949), is an Australian painter and printmaker who was the winner of the Dobell Prize for Drawing in 1999. He has been selected as a Dobell Prize Finalist fifteen times, won the

Doug Moran National Portrait Prize The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is an annual Australian portrait prize founded by Doug Moran in 1988, the year of Australia's Bicentenary. It is the richest portrait prize in the world with A$150,000 awarded to the winner. The prize is a ...

in 2002 and has been exhibited in the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

eight times. Fairbairn teaches at the

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts p ...

, Sydney.

Personal life

David Fairbairn was born in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, Africa in 1949. Following his schooling he did an honours degree in Fine Art then earned a postgraduate scholarship to Royal Academy School of Art, London, attending from 1974-1977. He moved to Australia in 1979. He lives in Wedderburn, a small town on the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...

south of Sydney, with his wife, the artist and Dobell Prize winner,

Suzanne Archer Suzanne may refer to: People * Suzanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) * S. U. Zanne, pen name of August Vandekerkhove (1838–1923), Belgian writer and inventor * Suzanne, pen name of Renée Méndez ...

, who is featured in much of his work.

Career

After a legal dispute between the Tweed Shire Council and the administrators of the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize resulted in the earliest winning artworks being separated from others, Fairbairn's 2002 winning portrait of his wife is the earliest displayed in the current Moran prize collection. Fairbairn's most recent Art work was the one that he called Large head JB no 1

References

External links

National Art School, SydneyStella Downer Art DealerABC News - Archibald finalists 2012Campbelltown Gallery - David FairbairnDesign and Art Australia online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn, David 1949 births Living people Australian painters Doug Moran National Portrait Prize winners Archibald Prize finalists