Melville Haysom (1900-1968) was an Australian artist, sculptor, instructor and musician. He specialised in portrait, coastal and animal paintings and alternated between impressionist and abstract styles. His work is held in galleries in Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane.

Early life

Melville Roy George Haysom was born in

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

on August 17, 1900. His parents, William and Christina Haysom encouraged his studies of art and music. He studied art at the

National Gallery School The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was a private fine arts college founded in 1867 and was Australia's leading art school of 50 years. It is also referred to as the 'National Gallery ...

in Melbourne in the style of the Heidelberg School but was also influenced by the abstract styles then coming out of Europe. He became President of the Victorian Art Society in 1923. Haysom moved to Queensland in 1929. He wrote art critiques for newspapers, worked as a musician in the orchestra of the Regent Theatre, as well as pursuing his painting career. He received the

Godfrey Rivers Richard Godfrey Rivers (1858 – 4 February 1925), generally known as R. Godfrey Rivers, was an English artist, active in Australia and president of the Queensland Art Society from 1892–1901 and 1904–08. Early life Richard Godfrey Rivers ...

Bequest Award in 1935 for his portrait of his wife. He was commissioned to prepare a portrait of Dr James Mayne in 1936. Murals by Haysom are on the walls of QUT Kelvin Grove and Tattersalls Club in Brisbane.

Military service

Haysom volunteered in the Australian Army during World War II. Following this service he taught art at the

Brisbane Central Technical College Brisbane Central Technical College is a heritage-listed technical college at 2 George Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1911 to 1956. It became the Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT) in 1 ...

(now QUT), providing instruction to many ex-servicemen who took advantage of the scholarships on offer after the war. He and his wife encouraged the art community in Brisbane which regularly met at their home Merri Merri farm, in the foothills of

Mt Coot-tha Mount Coot-tha is a mountain and a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , there were no residents in the suburb. Visible from much of the city, Mount Coot-tha is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Mou ...

at Chapel Hill. He was a Fellow of the Australian Artists Society and a Life Member of the

Royal Queensland Art Society The Royal Queensland Art Society is an organisation for practicing artists and those who appreciate art in Queensland, Australia. It is the oldest art society in Queensland. History A meeting was held in the Brisbane School of Arts on Thursday ...

, in addition to being its president from 1952 to 1955. Haysom was also involved in the Scouting movement of Brisbane.

Personal life

Haysom married Yvonne Denis in Melbourne in 1925. He died in Brisbane on December 25, 1968, and was survived by his wife, Yvonne and their son, Noel. Selected papers relating to his career are held by the University of Queensland Fryer Library and the

State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...

. An annual memorial scholarship was awarded in his name by the Queensland Art Gallery until Yvonne's death in 2016. His art is found in the Queensland Art Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of New South Wales, Griffith University Art Collection and University of Queensland Darnell Collection, as well as held privately. Two retrospectives of his work have been held since his death, in 1971 and at the Ipswich City Council Art Gallery in 1987, curated by Stephen Rainbird.

References

External links

Melville Haysom Papers 1950-1998

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haysom, Melville 20th-century Australian sculptors 20th-century Australian painters Australian male sculptors 1900 births 1967 deaths Artists from Melbourne National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni Australian Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Melbourne Academic staff of Queensland University of Technology

Early life

Military service

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links