James Peter Quinn

Who was James Peter Quinn?

James Peter Quinn was an Australian portrait painter born in Melbourne

He studied part-time under Frederick McCubbin 1887–1999, at the Melbourne National Gallery School under George Folingsby and Bernard Hall 1889–1893, then in Paris at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts from 1893–1901 under Jean Paul Laurens aided by a National Gallery of Victoria travelling scholarship. He spent time painting at the Etaples art colony in northern France, alongside other Australians including Rupert Bunny and Hilda Rix Nicholas.

By 1904 he was a highly successful portrait painter and exhibited with the Royal Academy of Arts. His Mère et Fils, was awarded an honourable mention at the Old Salon, Paris, in 1912. He was commissioned to paint Joseph Chamberlain, the Duchess of York and the Duke of Windsor.

He was accredited official war artist for the First AIF during World War I, painting prominent officers in France.

In 1919 in London, Quinn painted General Sir John Monash, Commander in Chief of the Australian Corps.