Nicholas Harding (1956 – 2 November 2022) was a British-born Australian artist, known for his

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, in particular

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

Early life

Harding was born in London, England in 1956. In 1965 his family emigrated to Australia, settling in the Sydney suburb of

Normanhurst Normanhurst is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Sh ...

. He became an Australian citizen in 1974.

Career

Harding is known for his

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

s done in a thickly layered

impasto ''Impasto'' is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provide ...

technique, his

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s, and his large scale

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

s in

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...

, mainly for

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

subjects; he is also an acclaimed portrait artist.

Recognition and awards

Harding won 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 ...

in 2001 with a portrait of John Bell as

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

. He also won the People's Choice Award at the 2005 Archibald, with ''Bob's Daily Swim''. He was a finalist in the Archibald Prize for thirteen years in a row from 1994 to 2006, and also in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. Harding was exhibited in the finalists for the

Sulman Prize The Sir John Sulman Prize is one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, having been established in 1936. It is now held concurrently with the Archibald Prize, Australia's best-known art prize, and also with the Wynne Prize, at the Art Gallery ...

in 1981, 2003, 2006 and the

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2016, and 2017, winning in 2022 with ''Eora''. He also won the

Dobell Drawing Prize The Dobell Drawing Prize is a biennial drawing prize and exhibition, held by the National Art School in association with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation.The prize is an open call to all artists and aims to explore the enduring importance ...

in 2001 with ''Eddy Avenue (3)''. Harding was awarded a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001. His painting ''

Robert Drewe Robert Duncan Drewe (born 9 January 1943) is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer. Biography Robert Drewe was born on 9 January 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. At the age of six, he moved with his family ...

(in the swell)'' was a 2006 Archibald Prize finalist and was purchased in 2010 by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra for its permanent collection which also includes his portraits ''Hugo at Home 2011'' (portrait of

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six AACTA Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema and Tel ...

Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including three AACTA Awards (including AFI), three Logie Awards, ...

''2014'', and ''

John Olsen John Wayne Olsen, AO (born 7 June 1945) is a former Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, C ...

AO 2017''. His painting ''Beach life (pink zinc and figures) 2006'' won the inaugural Kilgour Prize at the

Newcastle Art Gallery The Newcastle Art Gallery (formerly the Newcastle City Art Gallery, Newcastle Region Art Gallery) is a large, public art museum in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. History Founded in 1945 with an art collection consisting of 123 works ...

in 2006. In 2015 his painting ''Beached (Yuraygir self portrait)'' won the National Self-Portrait Prize People's Choice Award.

Major exhibitions

His work has been the subject of more than 40 solo exhibitions since 1992 and has been included in over 100 group exhibitions since 1982. ''Drawn to Paint'', a major 25-year survey exhibition of his work, was held at the S. H. Ervin Gallery in 2010. ''28 Portraits'', a survey exhibition of his portraits, was held at the National Portrait Gallery in 2017. In 2021 his 2001 Archibald Prize-winning portrait ''John Bell as King Lear'' was included in the ''Archie 100'' exhibition at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

celebrating 100 years of the Archibald Prize.

Collections

Harding's work is included in many public collections, including the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, National Portrait Gallery,

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

Tweed River Art Gallery Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre is a regional art gallery in Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia. ''Lonely Planet Australia'' describes it as "an exceptional gallery... home to some of Australia's finest in a variety of med ...

, and

Maitland Regional Art Gallery Maitland Regional Art Gallery or MRAG is a public art museum in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. History Maitland City Council began purchasing works of art in 1957 which formed the basis of the collection as it is today. In 1975 Brough ...

Publications

In 2020 he published ''From the Wings'' a limited-edition 312-page book containing a selection of his theatre rehearsal drawings from 2013 to 2018.

Personal life and death

Harding was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2017. He documented his cancer journey in a self-portrait entitled ''Treatment, day 49 (sorbolene soak)''. Harding died on 2 November 2022, at the age of 66. An exhibition of his final landscapes opened at Philip Bacon Galleries in Brisbane less than two weeks later.

References

External links

*
"Ep. 65: Nicholas Harding"
Talking With Painters (interview)

by John McDonald, 7 November 2022, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Nicholas 1956 births 2022 deaths Deaths from oral cancer Australian painters Archibald Prize winners English emigrants to Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Archibald Prize finalists Archibald Prize People's Choice Award winners Australian portrait painters Wynne Prize winners Painters from London