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Artist:

Subject: President of the Australian Senate
Senator the Honorable Paul Calvert
Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House, Canberra

e present an important new portrait by the brilliant young Australian artist Paul Newton, who is enjoying widespread acclaim for his art in the United States as well as in his native land.

This distinguished portrait of the President of the Australian Senate represents contemporary portraiture at its very best. The conception is simple and dignified (the use of the sweeping, spacious landscape background is a masterstroke), the technique is fresh and direct, the draftsmanship is utterly solid and convincing (the right hand is masterful in its execution).

We know enough about the expectations in the field of leadership portraiture to recognize in this portrait the perfect blend, in the President's demeanor, of relaxed assurance and statesmanlike dignity. The head is beautifully rendered - in strong light and shade, yet with a broad simplicity in terms of the amount of detail. The suit is thoroughly studied, yet not overdone.

We come back to the masterly employment of the vast, open (yes, almost barren) landscape background which gives the painting its grandeur. The placement of the foreground darks in that landscape are extraordinarily fortuitous. J.H.S.