Robert Pengilley, Various Works

Robert Pengilley, In Bredbo Creek.

The Artist

Robert Pengilley was born in Surrey, England in 1944 and trained at the Wimbledon School of Art in London. He spent some time as a lecturer and art teacher in England and travelled painting in West Africa, Spain, Italy and the United States. In 1970, Pengilley moved to Australia and settled in Canberra where he again taught and exhibited his art. Over the years his distinctive style has won Robert many awards, including the Leverhulme Travelling Scholarship in Europe, the David Murray Scholarship in Landscape Painting with the Royal Academy, the Arthur Phillips Landscape prize, the Tumut Art Prize and the Canberra Art Prize. His work has been hung in the Archibald and exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. His works are prized by many corporate collections such as the Australian National University, The High Court of Australia and the Australian Embassy. His work was selected by Hon. Bob Hawke as a Gift from Australia to the People’s Republic of China.

The Works of Art

Robert Pengilley's works of art are represented by two works that are very contrasting in physical appearance. The first is a charcoal drawing with an ink wash on A4 sized paper of 'the rocks at Coogee'. It is a study of the beach landscape to the east of Sydney. Pengilley made the study shortly after his arrival in Australia as the work was acquired by the Collection in 1971. The second work is a large canvas titled 'In Bredbo Creek'. This work contrasts with the earlier study as it is such a riot of colour. The viewer looks towards a small creek with sandy banks and thinly guarded greenery in the foreground and pine trees in the middle ground.. The sky is a vivid blue with a few clouds. The style has a postmodernist gesture to it as the scene is made of quickly painted brushstrokes that to the viewer alters the view. The work was acquired in 1977 by the University and has been exhibited in Goulburn Regional Art Gallery in a display called 'The Way we Were'.

References

Robert Pengilley, The Art Record, https://www.artrecord.com/index.cfm/artist/10545-pengilley-robert/

Robert Pengilley, Aarwon Gallery, http://aarwungallery.com/robert-pengilley

Robert Pengilley, Artist's file, courtesy of the Curator, University of Canberra