Lloyd Rees
Australia 1895–1988

Moreton Bay Fig at Milton, figure under tree c.1912–17
Pencil on paper
11 x 17cm

Palm; Creepers on rocks c.1914–17
Pencil on sketch paper
33.5 x 25.4cm

Tall pine and stubby palm c.1914–17
Pencil on sketch paper
25 x 25.3cm

Tree studies c.1914–17
Pencil on sketch paper
25.1 x 21.6cm

Garden steps with climbing plant c.1915
Pencil on paper
33.8 x 24.6cm

Bamboos near corner of Park and River Roads; Trees in Milton c.1915–16
Pencil on sketch paper
28.6 x 19.5cm

Gift of Alan and Jan Rees through the QAGOMA Foundation 2014. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program

The process of drawing allows us to pay close attention to the natural world. Lloyd Rees is known for his fluid, light-saturated paintings of the Australian landscape as well as his expert drafting skills honed over a lifetime of close observation and practice.

These Brisbane sketches, created at the beginning of Rees’s long career, include studies of trees, gardens and foliage. In Moreton Bay Fig at Milton, figure under tree c.1912–17 the twin trunks of a fig reach upwards, supporting a beautifully articulated canopy. A small figure sheltering below looks into the distance.