ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE RELEASE;
Words + pictures Fiona Basile
PAUL FITZGERALD AM is one of Australia’s most distinguished portrait painters. During his career—which spans more than 60 years—he has painted some of the world’s most notable figures including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Pope John XXIII, Cardinal James Knox, former prime ministers Sir Robert Menzies and Malcolm Fraser, and Archbishop Daniel Mannix. At 90 years of age, after an eight-year break due to the onset of Parkinson’s disease, he has just taken up the paint brush again in what he is calling his ‘comeback in abstract’.
‘They say with Parkinson’s it never gets better—it only gets worse,’ he said. ‘But I’m going to start again—they’re clearing out the back room now, which will be the studio. There’s no reason why I can’t do it. But I won’t be able to do it like I did, so they could just say, “this is his abstract period”, or something like that. A lot of the great artists did that, like Turner, and the prices didn’t go down.’
Born in Hawthorn in 1922, Paul was the second son of Frank and Margaret Fitzgerald (nee Poynton)—his father was an art critic and journalist at The Argus and The Age. Paul was educated at Xavier College and studied portrait painting at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School from 1940-43 and then again from 1946-47—the interruption was due to three years of service in the Australian Army during World War II.
In 1949, Paul bought ‘the cheapest first-class ticket’ he could on a liner bound for London. He intended to work as a steward to help cover his fare, but then decided to paint portraits of fellow passengers. ‘I thought that the fellow passengers would certainly be able to afford a portrait and they’d have nothing else to do onboard,’ he said. Paul painted two portraits and in the process established many new friendships that would help launch his career in England.
In his first year there, he painted enough portraits to fund trips to France, Italy and Spain—where he would soak up the famous galleries—and then return to London to paint again. Paul spent five years in London painting some of the Commonwealth’s most influential people including Lord Gowrie, governor-general Sir William Slim and his wife, Lady Slim, and Lieutenant-Commander Michael Parker.
Paul had been friends with Michael Parker and his sister Mary in Melbourne, when both families had lived near each other in Kew. In London, Lieutenant Parker was private secretary to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Mary, who had attended Genazzano College, was pursuing an acting and radio career with the BBC in London when Paul arrived there.
‘Everybody in England knew Mary Parker,’ said Paul, ‘In England she did several films—I’ve seen her name in lights on Shaftsbury Avenue and then she worked on TV as an announcer. They also brought her out to Australia in 1956 to open the Olympic Games—she was the first woman on television in Australia.’ Both Michael and Mary are also among the long list of subjects Paul has painted.
Paul and Mary married in the chapel of Xavier College in 1957 and after 56 years of marriage, they still shine with deep affection for each other. ‘She’s a wonderful carer,’ said Paul. ‘She takes such good care of me, and I have the most wonderful family’ including seven children—Fabian, Marisa, Patrick (deceased), Emma, Edward, Maria and Frances, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Paul’s life is surrounded by portraits, and behind each picture is a story. Speaking of his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, he said it had been commissioned by ‘Bob’ Menzies. ‘I was painting Bob’s portrait and he said he’d never seen a decent portrait of the Queen he liked. I told him I could probably do it.’ It was the first of three portraits he painted of the Queen, including the official portrait for her Silver Jubilee year.
Speaking of his portrait of American actress Vivien Leigh, he recalled her experience when visiting the Fitzgerald home. ‘Her first sitting was at 11 o’clock in the morning and Fabian—he was a little fellow then, about six years old—answered the door for me. He said, “Come in, Miss Vivien Leigh, will you have a cocktail?” She always remembered that and we had a good laugh about it.’
Looking back over his life and career, Paul said he’d been very blessed. And while he could not remember how many portraits of notables he had done, he was ‘chuffed the other day when he met somebody who said “we learn about you at University”.’
‘I’ve had a wonderful life. I read an article once, and it said, “life is a matter of choices; you can choose to be happy or unhappy”, and I chose happy. I always look on the bright side.’
His Catholic faith has also played an important role in his life: ‘Goodness me, the whole of eternity is dependent upon it, and that’s a long time. My faith underpins everything I do—we pray the Rosary every night.’
Despite Paul’s experience of Parkinson’s and ‘lapsing health’, his good humour and positive attitude was evident during the interview for this article. When Mary asked offered us a range of drinks, including a cup of tea or Pinot Noir, Paul responded, ‘I’d like a nice new Porsche’.
While Paul could not remember how many portraits he had done, he was certain there was ‘no other artist in the world who had painted as many portraits of people of distinction’ as he had. ‘I was chuffed the other day when I met somebody who said “we learn about you at university”.’
Paul is excited about what lies ahead. ‘This will be the first time I’ve painted in eight years,’ he said. ‘I don’t think they’ll be portraits, they’ll probably be still-life subjects. I won’t sell any of it for a while, but eventually when I get into it, I’ll know whether it’s reasonable or not. We’ll just have to see how I go.’
Paul Fitzgerald was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and a Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1997. He was a finalist for the Archibald Prize for Portraiture in 1958, 1962 and 1972. He founded the Australian Guild of Realist Artists, where he was president for seven years. His work is located in private and public collections nationally and internationally.
This article was first published in Kairos Catholic Journal, Issue 8.
Note: The photograph of Mary and Paul Fitzgerald is courtesy of Mary and Paul.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
Words + pictures Fiona Basile
PAUL FITZGERALD AM is one of Australia’s most distinguished portrait painters. During his career—which spans more than 60 years—he has painted some of the world’s most notable figures including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Pope John XXIII, Cardinal James Knox, former prime ministers Sir Robert Menzies and Malcolm Fraser, and Archbishop Daniel Mannix. At 90 years of age, after an eight-year break due to the onset of Parkinson’s disease, he has just taken up the paint brush again in what he is calling his ‘comeback in abstract’.‘They say with Parkinson’s it never gets better—it only gets worse,’ he said. ‘But I’m going to start again—they’re clearing out the back room now, which will be the studio. There’s no reason why I can’t do it. But I won’t be able to do it like I did, so they could just say, “this is his abstract period”, or something like that. A lot of the great artists did that, like Turner, and the prices didn’t go down.’
Born in Hawthorn in 1922, Paul was the second son of Frank and Margaret Fitzgerald (nee Poynton)—his father was an art critic and journalist at The Argus and The Age. Paul was educated at Xavier College and studied portrait painting at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School from 1940-43 and then again from 1946-47—the interruption was due to three years of service in the Australian Army during World War II.In 1949, Paul bought ‘the cheapest first-class ticket’ he could on a liner bound for London. He intended to work as a steward to help cover his fare, but then decided to paint portraits of fellow passengers. ‘I thought that the fellow passengers would certainly be able to afford a portrait and they’d have nothing else to do onboard,’ he said. Paul painted two portraits and in the process established many new friendships that would help launch his career in England.
In his first year there, he painted enough portraits to fund trips to France, Italy and Spain—where he would soak up the famous galleries—and then return to London to paint again. Paul spent five years in London painting some of the Commonwealth’s most influential people including Lord Gowrie, governor-general Sir William Slim and his wife, Lady Slim, and Lieutenant-Commander Michael Parker.Paul had been friends with Michael Parker and his sister Mary in Melbourne, when both families had lived near each other in Kew. In London, Lieutenant Parker was private secretary to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Mary, who had attended Genazzano College, was pursuing an acting and radio career with the BBC in London when Paul arrived there.
‘Everybody in England knew Mary Parker,’ said Paul, ‘In England she did several films—I’ve seen her name in lights on Shaftsbury Avenue and then she worked on TV as an announcer. They also brought her out to Australia in 1956 to open the Olympic Games—she was the first woman on television in Australia.’ Both Michael and Mary are also among the long list of subjects Paul has painted.
Paul and Mary married in the chapel of Xavier College in 1957 and after 56 years of marriage, they still shine with deep affection for each other. ‘She’s a wonderful carer,’ said Paul. ‘She takes such good care of me, and I have the most wonderful family’ including seven children—Fabian, Marisa, Patrick (deceased), Emma, Edward, Maria and Frances, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.Paul’s life is surrounded by portraits, and behind each picture is a story. Speaking of his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, he said it had been commissioned by ‘Bob’ Menzies. ‘I was painting Bob’s portrait and he said he’d never seen a decent portrait of the Queen he liked. I told him I could probably do it.’ It was the first of three portraits he painted of the Queen, including the official portrait for her Silver Jubilee year.
Speaking of his portrait of American actress Vivien Leigh, he recalled her experience when visiting the Fitzgerald home. ‘Her first sitting was at 11 o’clock in the morning and Fabian—he was a little fellow then, about six years old—answered the door for me. He said, “Come in, Miss Vivien Leigh, will you have a cocktail?” She always remembered that and we had a good laugh about it.’Looking back over his life and career, Paul said he’d been very blessed. And while he could not remember how many portraits of notables he had done, he was ‘chuffed the other day when he met somebody who said “we learn about you at University”.’
‘I’ve had a wonderful life. I read an article once, and it said, “life is a matter of choices; you can choose to be happy or unhappy”, and I chose happy. I always look on the bright side.’
His Catholic faith has also played an important role in his life: ‘Goodness me, the whole of eternity is dependent upon it, and that’s a long time. My faith underpins everything I do—we pray the Rosary every night.’Despite Paul’s experience of Parkinson’s and ‘lapsing health’, his good humour and positive attitude was evident during the interview for this article. When Mary asked offered us a range of drinks, including a cup of tea or Pinot Noir, Paul responded, ‘I’d like a nice new Porsche’.
While Paul could not remember how many portraits he had done, he was certain there was ‘no other artist in the world who had painted as many portraits of people of distinction’ as he had. ‘I was chuffed the other day when I met somebody who said “we learn about you at university”.’
Paul is excited about what lies ahead. ‘This will be the first time I’ve painted in eight years,’ he said. ‘I don’t think they’ll be portraits, they’ll probably be still-life subjects. I won’t sell any of it for a while, but eventually when I get into it, I’ll know whether it’s reasonable or not. We’ll just have to see how I go.’
Paul Fitzgerald was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and a Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1997. He was a finalist for the Archibald Prize for Portraiture in 1958, 1962 and 1972. He founded the Australian Guild of Realist Artists, where he was president for seven years. His work is located in private and public collections nationally and internationally.This article was first published in Kairos Catholic Journal, Issue 8.
Note: The photograph of Mary and Paul Fitzgerald is courtesy of Mary and Paul.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
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