The Art Gallery of New South Wales is thrilled to announce Sydney artist Jack Lanagan Dunbar has been awarded the 2019 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship. Lanagan Dunbar’s winning body of work Pantheon combines personal experiences of history and memory while referencing the mythologies and legendary figures of antiquity.

A prestigious national painting prize awarded annually to a young Australian painter aged between 20 and 30 years, the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship includes a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and $40,000 funding to further the recipients’ art education while in Europe.

The 2019 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship had 116 applicants from across Australia, guest judge and artist Gemma Smith selected nine finalists and then chose Lanagan Dunbar as the winner.

For Pantheon, his winning body of work, Lanagan Dunbar’s layered mark making combines patina, acrylic paint, vinyl-based paint, chinagraph and lacquer on copper sheet. Smith was impressed by the timeless quality of his work.

“Jack’s paintings are sumptuous and poetic. I was drawn to the way his paintings are at once deeply thoughtful and spontaneous. Full of allusions to classical mythology whilst simultaneously caught up in the moment, with the immediacy of mark making.

“Jack uses a confounding combination of materials – the result is fascinating and alchemical. He has already developed a strong art practice and I’m sure that an extended period in Europe will have an extraordinary and ongoing impact on his work,” Smith said.

Art Gallery of New South Wales director Dr Michael Brand congratulated Lanagan Dunbar as the latest recipient of the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.

“As the 21st young Australian to be awarded the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, Jack joins an inspiring alumni of scholarship recipients that includes Ben Quilty, Mitch Cairns and Natasha Walsh,” Brand said.

“Jack’s work demonstrates a striking confidence along with painterly skill so it will be fascinating to see how this timely opportunity for study abroad will shape his practice,” Brand added.

Established in 1999 by the late Beryl Whiteley, the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship commemorates the profound effect international travel and study had on her son, artist Brett Whiteley, who won the Italian Government Travelling Art Scholarship at the age of 20.

A selection of the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship finalist works will be on display at the Brett Whiteley Studio from Friday 20 September to Sunday 20 October 2019.

2019 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship finalists:

• Amelia Carroll, Kingston, ACT
• Bridie Gillman, Kangaroo Point, QLD
• Claudia Greathead, Clifton Hill, VIC
• Jack Lanagan Dunbar (winner), Lewisham, NSW
• Larizza Macatiag, Burnside, VIC
• Thea Anamara Perkins, Stanmore, NSW
• Nick Santoro, Robertson, NSW
• Lani Shea-An, Mawson, ACT
• Myles Young, Camperdown, NSW

About the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship

The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship comprises $40,000 funding to further the recipient’s art education while in Europe, including a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris followed by three months to visit European countries of their choice.

The scholarship commemorates the profound effect international travel and study had on Brett Whiteley, who won the Italian Government Travelling Art Scholarship at the age of 20.

About the Brett Whiteley Studio

Brett and Wendy Whiteley first bought the former Surry Hills warehouse in 1985, converting it into a studio and exhibition space where Brett lived and worked from 1988 until his death in 1992. The space opened to the public in 1995, two years after it was purchased by the NSW Government.

The Brett Whiteley Studio offers visitors the unique opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the artist’s working space, with paintings, art materials, Whiteley’s collection of art books and objects that inspired him, alongside the graffiti wall covered with his quotes and images.

The Studio is managed and owned by the Art Gallery of NSW. Free admission is made possible by J.P. Morgan, principal sponsor of the Brett Whiteley Studio.