This project could not have proceeded without the support of members of Ian Fairweather’s family. We thank especially Fairweather’s nephew the late Geoffrey Fairweather, who carried on the work of his cousin Rosemary Waters, who had inherited the artist’s estate. Geoffrey gave the project his blessing. It is a source of regret that he did not live to see this publication, which we dedicate to him. His work has been continued by his daughter Anne Fairweather Cox, whom we thank for her support and valuable assistance. We also thank Susan Osborn-Smith, Ian Fairweather’s great-niece.
A Life in Letters began following a conversation between Murray Bail and Geoffrey Fairweather. In the early stages Bail shepherded the project. He has continued to provide essential help and guidance throughout, for which we are very grateful. His books on Ian Fairweather (1981, 2009) provide the foundation upon which this volume of letters is based.
The final crucial stage of research for this project was funded by the Australian Research Council through Dr Claire Roberts’ ARC Future Fellowship (FT140100743) Reconfiguring the World: China. Art. Agency. 1900s to Now, without which the publication would not have been possible.
For generous benefaction and assistance, sincere thanks are extended to Philip Bacon AM, a staunch champion of Ian Fairweather’s artistic legacy.
The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art has provided wide-ranging support for the publication through its long gestation. We thank especially former director Doug Hall AM, who first gave his support to the proposal; Tony Ellwood AM and Chris Saines CNZM over their tenures; and successive senior gallery staff Lynne Seear, Suhanya Raffel, Maud Page and Simon Elliott. We thank also former curators of Australian art Julie Ewington and Angela Goddard, who shared their knowledge and through whose contacts previously unknown letters were located, notably those written to Marion Smith and to Clark Massie; the late Anne Moran, and library volunteer Bronwen Goodsall who took on the task of transcribing the majority of the letters; Judy Gunning and librarians Jacklyn Young and Cathy Pemble-Smith, who provided access to Fairweather research materials, gallery archival records and images, and answered many queries; and Gallery Store manager the late Peter Beiers. We were fortunate to have the generous assistance of research assistants in Australia and in the United Kingdom who in their different ways each provided indispensable help in solving some of the more obdurate queries: Pennelope Little (Sydney), Frank Cannata (Sydney), Donna Holmes (Bribie Island Historical Society), Kerrie Glennie (Canberra), Sara Joynes (London), and Stephen Mead (Melbourne).
In Australia other important research support was provided by a team of librarians, archivists, curators, artists and independent scholars. In particular, we thank in Brisbane: Bruce Ibsen and Amanda Main (University of Queensland Archives); Michele Helmrich (University of Queensland Art Museum); Dinah Johnson (University of Queensland); Lisa Clayton, Simon Farley, Chris Hale, Joan Keating, Kerri Klumpp, Amanda Main, Jeffrey Rickertt, Penny Whiteway and Keri Williams (University of Queensland Fryer Library); Greg Bain (University of Queensland Press); Joan Bruce, Dianne Byrne, Helen Cole and Amanda Ladds (State Library of Queensland); and Jerome Bredt, Lissa Clayton, Glenn Cooke, Paul Crook, Bruce Heiser, John Moorhead, Sang Ye, Win Schubert, Frank Thompson and Merrill Yule (Thompson), and Sue Trevaskes; on Bribie Island: Margaret Guthrie, Graham Mills and Sue Harrison (Bribie Island Historical Society); Karen Dinte, James Lergessner and Don Mullen; in Caboolture: Michael Strong and Edith Cuffe (Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology) and staff at Caboolture Library; in Sydney: Deborah Edwards, Claire Eggleston, Vivian Huang, Steven Miller, Denise Mimmochi, Barry Pearce, Vivian Tring and Wayne Tunnicliffe (Art Gallery of New South Wales); Gillian Simpson (Australian National Maritime Museum); Natalie Adamson, Steven Alderton, Roger Benjamin, Eileen Chanin, Conrad Del Villar, Dorothy Baena Del Villar, Megan Dick, Sam Dickerson, Jennifer Dickerson, Espie Dodds, Christine France, Mark Fraser, Robin Gibson, Cathryn Hlvaka, Louise Home, Ray Hughes, Rex Irwin, John Miles Little, John McPhee, David Malouf, David Marr, Andrew Massie, Lisa Moore, the late Margaret Olley, Mike Parr, Cassi Plate, Ann Thomson, Tony Twigg, Kay Vernon, Frank Watters, Dot Wilkin and Zhang Lansheng; in country New South Wales: Geoffrey Cains; Stuart Cameron; Bradley Hammond, Lisa Loader and Hanli Uys (Orange Regional Gallery); Joanna Immig; Craig McGregor; and Mary Turner; in Melbourne: Isobel Crombie, Luke Doyle and Kirsty Grant (National Gallery of Victoria); Kevin Molloy, Ben Sylvan and staff in the Heritage Collections Reading Room (State Library of Victoria); Alison Inglis and Sheridan Palmer (University of Melbourne); Ian Britain, Ed Bryans, William Ferguson, Gillian Forwood, Trevor Fuller, Victor Griss, Rodney James, Kim Lockwood, Victoria Lynn, Christopher Menz, Liz Manning, William Nuttall, Louise Ridley, Peter Rose, Susan McCulloch and Anna Schwartz; in Geelong: Clark Massie, Valmai Massie and Robert Smith; in Adelaide: Jin Whittington (Art Gallery of South Australia), Fiona Salmon (Flinders University Art Museum), Lawrence Daws, Carrolyn Kavanagh, Mike Ladd, Eugenie Law-Smith and Milton Moon; in Hobart: Sue Backhouse, Joanne Huxley, Jane Stewart and Janet Middleton (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery), Daniel Thomas; in Canberra: Felicita Carr (Australian Defence Force Academy Library), Geremie Barmé, Nicholas Brown, Jeremy Hodes, John Minford, Igor de Rachewiltz, Annie Ren and Alexander Burchmore (Australian National University), Stewart Crawford and Cheryl McNamara (National Archives of Australia); Deborah Hart, Gael Newton, and Victoria Perin (National Gallery of Australia), Helen Highland, Peta Jane Jones and Joye Volker (National Gallery of Australia Research Library); Karen Johnson, Kylie Scroope and Andrew Sargeant (National Library of Australia); the late Betty Churcher, the late Roy Churcher, Paul Churcher, Mary Eagle, Enid Gibson, and Helen Tan; in Perth: Jeri Tatian (State Library of Western Australia), and Melissa Harpley and Sally Quinn (University of Western Australia Art Collection).
In the United Kingdom and further afield we express grateful thanks to in London: staff at the British Library; Jamie Maxwell (British Library, Newsroom); Lucy Bayley and Paul Hobson (Contemporary Art Society); staff in the Research Room, Imperial War Museum; staff at the National Archives, Kew; Kate Swann (National Army Museum); Tara Knower (Salvation Army International Heritage Centre); Liv Mills (Slade School of Fine Art); Robert Winckworth and staff (Special Collections, University College, London); Adele Picken (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London); Penny Hines, Anne Newport, Nicholas Smith and Verity Steele (Victoria & Albert Museum); Jan Dalley, Vanessa Griffiths, Paddy Jackson, Peter Simpson and Keith Tritton; in Cambridge: Sebastiano Barassi and Frieda Midgley (Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge); in Hertford: Donna Creswell and Heather Edwards-Hedley (Haileybury Imperial Service College); in Jersey: Jason Castledine, Michele Leerson and Janne White (Jersey Archive); Louise Downie (Jersey Museum); Susan and the late Roland Osborn-Smith; Martin Bithell (Victoria College Archives); in Oxford: Craig Clunas and Henrietta Harrison (University of Oxford), Reverend Allan Doig (Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford); in Sark: Jane Norwich and Susan Synott (Sark Historical Society); in Guernsey: Helen Conlon (Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery); in China: Chen Yanyin, Fan Lin and Wang Zhongxiu; in the Netherlands: Saskia Minjon (Huis Doorn); in Norway: Irene Hansen; and Arild Teigen (Kvam Historical Society); in Spain: Peter Churcher; and in the United States: David Gillison and Doris Downes Hughes.
We are grateful to our publisher, Michael Heyward at Text Publishing, for his enduring commitment to producing a book of Ian Fairweather’s letters; we thank David Winter, our editor at Text, for his encouragement and his judicious eye; W. H. Chong for his deep engagement with the project, culminating in this elegant design; and Rights Manager Anne Beilby for her skill and patience in navigating contractual matters and permissions.
Finally our personal thanks to our respective partners, Nicholas Jose and Clive Faro, for their support in sharing their lives with Ian Fairweather for much longer than any of us had anticipated.