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JEFF MAKIN: Eighty Years

04 May — 21 May 2023

Jeff Makin’s exhibition Eighty Years at James Makin Gallery marks the artist’s 80th birthday and over 60 years of his painting career. We are proud to present a major retrospective of the artist’s work, presenting new paintings, as well as seminal works from the artist’s vast oeuvre – works released for acquisition for the first time.

Makin’s work has long explored the picturesque and the sublime in nature, rooted in a specifically Australian locality. Makin has visited many Australian landmarks throughout his career, in search of capturing those intangible qualities that form the essence of the land. Following this, much of Makin’s work is painted in the plein air tradition. In a career that has been dedicated to capturing the vastness of Australia’s varying terrain, his work invariably succeeds in its depiction of the genius locus, or ‘spirit of place’.

Makin is one of Australia’s leading landscape artists and one of the few surviving artists from a close cohort of painters including Fred Williams, John Olson, Ian Armstrong and Clifton Pugh. The importance of Jeff Makin’s work to the vibrant history of Australian landscape painting has been recognised with the monograph Australia Felix: Landscapes by Jeffrey Makin, published in 2002. The monograph is a celebration of the artist’s practice by acclaimed art writer Jenny Zimmer and includes an introductory letter by John Olsen – a long time peer and friend of Makin. Jeff Makin is represented in all national, state and most regional and corporate collections in Australia. In 2007 a boutique hotel in Melbourne was named in his honour. Alongside his artistic career, Makin has held numerous senior academic appointments and influenced many of the next generation of landscape painters, such as the late Phillip Hunter. Makin was also the senior art critic for the Herald Sun for almost thirty years, with his writing from this time collated and published in the book Critical Moments: Essays and Reviews on Art in Australia published by MacMillan in 2011.

Jeff Makin’s eclectic and picturesque studio is situated in his family home, a converted 1850s dancehall, based in central Victoria, where he continues to paint, immersed in the Australian landscape he has dedicated his career to.

ARTWORKS

  • The Breakaway, Hawkesbury RiverJeff Makin The Breakaway, Hawkesbury River 2016 oil on linen 60 x 122 cm $12,500.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Sylvan LandscapeJeff Makin Sylvan Landscape 1987 oil on linen 61 x 70 cm $8,250.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Quamby Bluff, DeloraineJeff Makin Quamby Bluff, Deloraine 2005 oil on linen 61 x 91 cm $9,500.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Inversnaid Falls, ScotlandJeff Makin Inversnaid Falls, Scotland 1991 oil on linen 122 x 91 cm $21,000.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Streeton’s View, Sirius CoveJeff Makin Streeton’s View, Sirius Cove 2015 oil on linen 61 x 91 cm $9,500.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Drysdale’s Church, Hill EndJeff Makin Drysdale’s Church, Hill End 1994 oil on linen 77 x 120 cm $17,600.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Howqua MorningJeff Makin Howqua Morning 2001 oil on linen 101 x 46 cm $7,500.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Cedar Creek Falls No.1Jeff Makin Cedar Creek Falls No.3 1986 oil on linen 152 x 122 cm $32,000.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Glen Harrow OrchardJeff Makin Glen Harrow Orchard circa 1996 oil on linen 122 x 96 cm $21,500.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Bridal Veil Falls, Blue MountainsJeff Makin Bridal Veil Falls, Blue Mountains 2007 oil on linen 183 x 122 cm $35,000.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Acacia and Blackboys, Margaret RiverJeff Makin Acacia and Blackboys, Margaret River 2001 Oil on canvas 123 x 163 cm $38,000.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Steavenson FallsJeff Makin Steavenson Falls 1989 oil on linen 183 x 122 cm $38,500.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Patty's Mill Falls, ScotlandJeff Makin Patty's Mill Falls, Scotland 1990 oil on linen 45.5 x 35 cm $4,400.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Hedge, Ferny CreekJeff Makin Hedge, Ferny Creek 1983 oil on linen 56 x 35 cm $5,500.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Breen Terrace, Dandenong Ranges No.2Jeff Makin Breen Terrace, Dandenong Ranges No.2 1982 oil on linen 61 x 51 cm $7,000.00 ENQUIRE →
  • Rubicon PastoralJeff Makin Rubicon Pastoral 2020 oil on linen 36 x 51 cm $4,200.00 ENQUIRE →

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Artist Name

Artwork Title

Year

Medium

Size

Price