The philanthropist - portrait of Tim Fairfax AC
Christopher McVinish
- Sitter: Tim Fairfax AC
- Medium: Oil on Linen
- Dimensions: 122cm x 153cm
- Representation: Gallery One (Gold Coast) and M Contemporary (Sydney)
About the artwork
Tim Fairfax AC is one of Australia’s leading philanthropists. “In my portrait of Tim I have tried to present a man of deep integrity, true in character with a clear vision of the future.”
The portrait strikes a balance between the formal and casual, revealing his status and experience as a leader but also capturing his calm personality.
Since 2008, the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation has been supporting rural, regional and remote communities in areas including community health, the arts and education.
Tim Fairfax has also had leadership roles in many public institutions. He was Chancellor of QUT, founding benefactor and former Chair of the National Portrait Gallery, and former deputy chairman of the National Gallery of Australia.
Together with his wife, Gina and family, Tim Fairfax is continuing the family’s generational commitment to giving. Like his father, Vincent, Tim Fairfax is known for his gracious and humble approach.
Tim and Gina Fairfax are major benefactors to many public institutions, and also art collectors. They have some of Christopher’s work, as the artist discovered when he visited Tim Fairfax for the sitting. “I was surprised, he had quite a few of my and Cynthia’s work.”
Tim Fairfax is also president of the QAQOMA Foundation, Chairman of the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, and has received many awards for leadership in philanthropy.
About the artist
Christopher McVinish is a contemporary realist painter with a successful portraiture practice. He also paints urban landscapes. “I’m interested in taking everyday things and transforming them, finding the aesthetic in what usually gets taken for granted.” He has held over 30 solo exhibitions since 1979 and been been a finalist in many awards. His art is represented in public and private collections in Australia and around the world. He trained at Swinbourne College, taught at the Queensland College of Art, had a graphic design business in Brisbane with his artist wife Cynthia Breusch. They both now work from their home studio in the Blue Mountains. Christopher’s work has been represented by Jan Murphy and Lethbridge Galleries. He is now represented by Sydney’s M Contemporary, and Gallery One, Gold Coast, where he is described as “…a master of light.”
