Reginald Cecil Grahame (Rah) Fizelle (4 September 1891 – 25 October 1964) was an Australian artist and teacher.

Biography

Rah Fizelle was born in near

Goulburn, New South Wales Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent ...

. After training at Teachers' College Sydney, Fizelle jointed the Department of Public Instruction and returned to Goulburn to teach. In January 1916 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and fought with the 22nd Battalion in France raising to the rank of lance sergeant. Upon returning to Australia in 1919 with some injuries Fizelle went back the Teachers' College to specialise in art under May Marsden. In 1921 Fizelle won a scholarship to the

Julian Ashton Art School The Julian Ashton Art School was established by Julian Ashton in 1890 as the "Academy Julian", (perhaps a reference to the Académie Julian in Paris) has been an influential art school in Australia. For a long time it was known as the Sydney Art ...

. From 1922 to 1926 he taught at Darlington Public School and attended evening classes with Aston. During this time he became known for his water colours.

Career

Fizelle returned to Europe in 1927, studying ath the Polytechnic School of Art, Regent Street, London and the Westminster School of Art under

Bernard Meninsky Bernard Meninsky (25 July 1891–12 February 1950) was a painter of figures and landscapes in oils, watercolour and gouache, a draughtsman and a teacher.. Biography Early life and education Meninsky was born in Konotop, Ukraine, where his fathe ...

. From 1928 to 1930 he developed his practice in Italy, producing simple, stylised geometric landscapes and watercolours. At this time his work was influenced by early Reniassance artists Gitto and

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...

. The Spanish artist

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

was his favorite and a large influence. During this time Fizelle exhibited at the

Royal Academy of Arts, London The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

and the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français, Paris. Upon his return to Sydney, Fizelle began to frequent The Modern Art Centre in Margret Street, Sydney, which fellow modernist

Dorrit Black Dorothea Foster Black (23 December 1891 – 13 September 1951) was an Australian painter and printmaker of the modernism, Modernist school, known for being a pioneer of Modernism in Australia. In 1951, at the age of sixty, Black was killed in a ...

had founded in 1931, as the first exclusively modernist art gallery in Australia. Among the artists who exhibited here were Fizelle,

Grace Crowley Grace Adela Williams Crowley (pr: as in "slowly") (28 May 1890 – 21 April 1979) was an Australian artist and modernist painter. Early life and education Grace Crowley was born in May 1890 in Barraba, New South Wales. She was the fourth chi ...

Roland Wakelin Roland Wakelin (17 April 1887 – 28 May 1971) was a New Zealand-born Australian painter and teacher. Early life Roland Shakespeare Wakelin was born on 17 April 1887 in Greytown, New Zealand. He studied at Wellington Technical School from 190 ...

Grace Cossington Smith Grace Cossington Smith (20 April 189220 December 1984) was an Visual arts of Australia, Australian artist and pioneer of Modernist art, modernist painting in Australia and was instrumental in introducing Post-Impressionism to her home country. ...

and

Ralph Balson Ralph Balson (1890–1964) was an English born Australian artist. Balson was a leading figure in the modernist movement and is credited with holding the first solo exhibition of abstract work in Australia. Balson, initially a plumber and house ...

Death

Rah Fizelle died on 25 October 1964 at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney. He was survived by his wife, Edith Agnes Watson, née Collins.

Collections

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 ...

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 Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

* Newcastle Art Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fizelle, Rah Australian artists Modernism 1964 deaths 1891 births