Ian Fairweather

A self-portrait by one of Australia’s greatest artists, a man mistakenly portrayed as a hermit

A special limited 50th anniversary edition of an Ian Fairweather classic. In 1965, UQP first published artist Ian Fairweather's The Drunken Buddha. His iconic translation of an ancient Chinese novel, illustrated with his paintings, was praised by scholars and readers alike. Fairweather was fascinated by Chinese calligraphy and possessed great knowledge of popular Buddhism; his translation retains the spirit of both the original work and popular Chinese literature in general. This new edition celebrates Fairweather's creative legacy; and the classic tale of Buddhist monk Chi-Tien, often drunk and irreverent but nonetheless considered a saint, continues to resonate across the decades.

A completely revised and updated edition of Murray Bail's seminal book on the life and work of renowned artist Ian Fairweather.

Ian Fairweather is one of the most significant twentieth-century artists to have worked in Australia. After a life of wandering, including time spent in China, Bali and the Philippines, Fairweather settled on Bribie Island, off the coast of Queensland, where he built his own house. In 1962 a leading art critic named him 'our greatest painter'. Fairweather is exceptional among modern artists for his experience of Chinese life and culture. He lived and worked in China for extended periods, learnt Chinese and published a book-length translation of the popular Chinese novel The Drunken Buddha (1965). From an early age Fairweather sought alternatives to art based on verisimilitude and single-point perspective. This led to a lifelong engagement with the principles of Chinese art and thought that profoundly shaped his own creative process. Drawing on letters, interviews and other archival materials to shed new light on Fairweather's artistic practice, Claire Roberts brings her own extensive knowledge of Chinese language and art to this absorbing re-examination of a revered artist. Fairweather and China shows how central the China experience is to his emergence as a key transcultural figure, connecting British, European, Chinese and Australian art histories in new and visionary ways.

NWS Channel Nine brought the miracle of modern television to South Australians on 5 September 1959. Miracle on Tynte Street is a sentimental journey back to the early days and shows Adelaide Tonight, Woodies Teen Time, The Channel Niners, the Christmas pantos, and all the rest.

Mentions a house Fairweather lived in at Malay Village, Cairns, aournd 1938, found for him by an Aboriginal man, Old Billy, and moving to Browns Bay; also mentions a review of a one-man show at the Peter Bray Gallery, Melbourne in 1956, in which the influence of Aboriginal art on Fairweather's work is mentioned.