Rupert Bunny (1864-1947) * Australian painter

Rupert Bunny (1864-1947), was one of the most successful expatriate artists of his generation; indeed no other Australian achieved the critical acclaim nor enjoyed the artistic affiliations which Bunny experienced in Paris in the decades around the turn of the century. A superb colourist and fine draughtsman, with a strong interest in rhythmic composition, Bunny was inspired by a range of late century tendencies, most particularly Symbolism with its affinity to the life of the imagination. Bunny crafted individualised statements from such influences, in imaginative tableaux which range from magnificent Salon-endorsed mythologies, to vibrant decorative allegories and the Belle Epoque paintings of Parisian leisure for which he is most widely celebrated.