Adrian Feint
Encyclopedia
Adrian Feint was an Australian artist born in Narrandera, NSW
and who worked in various media but is noted for his bookplate designs.
He studied at Sydney Art School from 1911 under Julian Ashton
and Elioth Gruner
then enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces in 1916 and was sent to France with the 15th Field Ambulance. Before being demobbed in 1919, he was granted three months leave to study at the Académie Julien in Paris. He studied plate etching 1922–26, woodblock-engraving 1926–28 with assistance of from Thea Proctor
in 1927 and oil painting from 1938 with Margaret Preston
.
He was elected to the Society of Artists
He was a member of the Australian Painter-Etchers Society.
He was co-director (with bookbinder Wal Taylor) and manager of Grosvenor Gallery, Sydney, from 1924–28. Exhibitors included the now-famous Thea Proctor
, Elioth Gruner
, Margaret Preston
, Roland Wakelin
, Roy de Maistre
and G W Lambert.
He was employed as assistant editor (to Sydney Ure Smith
) of Art in Australia from 1928-40, contributing many cover illustrations to this and Ure Smith's 'lifestyle' magazine Home and filled many commissions for his advertising agency Smith and Julius.
He abandoned graphic arts around 1939 (he reworked one bookplate in 1944) to work as a bookbinder with Benjamin Waite and to illustrate limited edition books. After WWII he took up flower painting in watercolours then oil-painting, but without critical acclaim in this last medium.
But it is his bookplate
s which are his greatest legacy. Thea Proctor
, Dorothea Mackellar
, Ethel Turner
, Ethel Curlewis, John Mullins
, Frank Clune
, Peter Tansey and the Duke and Duchess of York were among those who commissioned personal ex libris plates.
In 1930 his bookplate designs were recognised by an exhibition at the Division of Fine Arts, Library of Congress
, Washington US (organised by American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers), and in 1933 were highlights of the first International Exhibition of Bookplates held in Sydney.
They are prized by collectors such as members of the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers and the New Australian Bookplate Collectors Society. According to the checklist compiled by Thelma Clune, he produced 221 commissioned bookplates. Apart from Norman Lindsay
, the only other Australian artist whose bookplates command anywhere the same interest is G D Perrottet.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and who worked in various media but is noted for his bookplate designs.
He studied at Sydney Art School from 1911 under Julian Ashton
Julian Ashton
Julian Rossi Ashton was an Australian artist and teacher, known for his support of the Heidelberg School and for his influential art school in Sydney....
and Elioth Gruner
Elioth Gruner
Elioth Lauritz Leganyer Gruner, early anglicised from Grüner , was an Australian painter, winner of the Wynne Prize seven times.-Early life:...
then enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces in 1916 and was sent to France with the 15th Field Ambulance. Before being demobbed in 1919, he was granted three months leave to study at the Académie Julien in Paris. He studied plate etching 1922–26, woodblock-engraving 1926–28 with assistance of from Thea Proctor
Thea Proctor
Althea Mary Proctor was, with Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, one of the most famous Australian woman artists of her time. She was born in Armidale, New South Wales, New South Wales, to solicitor and politician William Consett Proctor and his wife Katherine Louise...
in 1927 and oil painting from 1938 with Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
.
He was elected to the Society of Artists
He was a member of the Australian Painter-Etchers Society.
He was co-director (with bookbinder Wal Taylor) and manager of Grosvenor Gallery, Sydney, from 1924–28. Exhibitors included the now-famous Thea Proctor
Thea Proctor
Althea Mary Proctor was, with Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, one of the most famous Australian woman artists of her time. She was born in Armidale, New South Wales, New South Wales, to solicitor and politician William Consett Proctor and his wife Katherine Louise...
, Elioth Gruner
Elioth Gruner
Elioth Lauritz Leganyer Gruner, early anglicised from Grüner , was an Australian painter, winner of the Wynne Prize seven times.-Early life:...
, Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
, Roland Wakelin
Roland Wakelin
Roland Shakespeare Wakelin was an Australian painter and teacher, born in Greytown, New Zealand, who with Roy de Maistre and Grace Cossington Smith are regarded as founding the modern movement in Sydney....
, Roy de Maistre
Roy De Maistre
Roy de Maistre CBE was an Australian artist of international fame. He is famous in Australian art for his early experimentation in "colour-music", and is recognised as the first Australian artist to use pure abstractionism. His later works were painted in a figurative style generally influenced by...
and G W Lambert.
He was employed as assistant editor (to Sydney Ure Smith
Sydney Ure Smith
Sydney George Ure Smith was an Australian arts publisher and promoter who 'did more than any other Australian to publicize Australian art at home and overseas'....
) of Art in Australia from 1928-40, contributing many cover illustrations to this and Ure Smith's 'lifestyle' magazine Home and filled many commissions for his advertising agency Smith and Julius.
He abandoned graphic arts around 1939 (he reworked one bookplate in 1944) to work as a bookbinder with Benjamin Waite and to illustrate limited edition books. After WWII he took up flower painting in watercolours then oil-painting, but without critical acclaim in this last medium.
But it is his bookplate
Bookplate
A bookplate, also known as ex-librīs [Latin, "from the books of..."], is usually a small print or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner...
s which are his greatest legacy. Thea Proctor
Thea Proctor
Althea Mary Proctor was, with Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, one of the most famous Australian woman artists of her time. She was born in Armidale, New South Wales, New South Wales, to solicitor and politician William Consett Proctor and his wife Katherine Louise...
, Dorothea Mackellar
Dorothea Mackellar
Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar, OBE was an Australian poet and fiction writer.The only daughter of noted physician and parliamentarian Sir Charles Mackellar, she was born in Sydney in 1885...
, Ethel Turner
Ethel Turner
Ethel Turner was an Australian novelist and children's writer.She was born Ethel Mary Burwell in Doncaster in England. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother Sarah Jane Burwell with two daughters . A year later, Sarah Jane married Henry Turner, who was twenty years older and had six...
, Ethel Curlewis, John Mullins
John Mullins
John Christopher 'Johnny' Mullins is an English footballer who currently plays for Rotherham United. Mullins is a versatile defender, who usually plays in the right-back position.-Career:...
, Frank Clune
Frank Clune
Francis Patrick Clune, OBE, was a best-selling Australian author, travel writer and popular historian.-Early life and career:Frank Clune was born in Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney in 1893, and grew up in Redfern...
, Peter Tansey and the Duke and Duchess of York were among those who commissioned personal ex libris plates.
In 1930 his bookplate designs were recognised by an exhibition at the Division of Fine Arts, Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, Washington US (organised by American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers), and in 1933 were highlights of the first International Exhibition of Bookplates held in Sydney.
They are prized by collectors such as members of the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers and the New Australian Bookplate Collectors Society. According to the checklist compiled by Thelma Clune, he produced 221 commissioned bookplates. Apart from Norman Lindsay
Norman Lindsay
Norman Alfred William Lindsay was an Australian artist, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist, scale modeler, and boxer. He was born in Creswick, Victoria....
, the only other Australian artist whose bookplates command anywhere the same interest is G D Perrottet.
Recognition
- Bookplate Association International first prize 1930 for Raoul Lempriere bookplate
- John Lane Mullins woodcut prize 1933
- George FitzPatrick 'Typical Australian woodcut' prize 1933
- His portrait, by Nora HeysenNora HeysenNora Heysen AM was an Australian artist, the first woman to win the prestigious Archibald Prize for portraiture and the first Australian woman appointed as an official war artist.-Biography:...
, hangs in the National Library, Canberra.