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Lina Bryans

OAM
Photo of Lina Bryans.jpg
Born
Lina Hallenstein

(1909-08-26)26 August 1909
Hamburg, Germany
Died 30 September 2000(2000-09-30) (aged 91)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality Australian
Education Mentor William (Jock) Frater and La Grande Chaumière
Known for Painting
Movement Modernism
Awards 1966 Crouch Prize

Lina Bryans OAM (born August 26, 1909 – died September 30, 2000) was a famous Australian modernist painter. She was known for her unique and modern style of art.

The Early Life of Lina Bryans

Lina Bryans was born in Hamburg, Germany, on August 26, 1909. Her parents, Edward and Lina Hallenstein, were Australians from a wealthy family. They were visiting Europe when she was born. The next year, her family moved to Toorak, Melbourne, Victoria. Lina grew up traveling between Australia, England, and France. She learned French and later worked as a translator.

In 1931, she married Baynham Bryans. They had a son named Edward (born June 24, 1932 – died March 23, 2010). Edward later became a well-known newsreader for ABC radio and television. After her marriage ended, Lina moved to South Yarra in 1936. There, she met a painter named William (Jock) Frater. He encouraged her to start painting, and she decided to become an artist. Before this, she had not been involved in art.

Lina Bryans' First Paintings

Lina Bryans was a modernist artist. She was part of a group of artists around William Frater, including Ada May Plante and Isabel Hunter Tweddle. She painted her first artworks in early 1937. One of her paintings, Backyards, South Yarra, was chosen for an important art show in 1938. Her art was also shown in a magazine called Studio in 1938. In 1941, her work was part of a big exhibition called Art of Australia 1788-1941 at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York.

The Famous Pink Hotel

In the late 1930s, Bryans moved into Darebin Bridge House in Darebin. It was an old coach-house that had been changed into a home. She lived there with Ada May Plante. Lina later bought the house with money she inherited. She painted and decorated it in a special way and called it "The Pink Hotel."

This house became a gathering place for many artists. Lina Bryans, Ada May Plante, William Frater, Ambrose Hallen, and Ian Fairweather all spent time there. After 1945, "The Pink Hotel" also welcomed a group of writers from the Meanjin journal. This included Vance and Nettie Palmer. This mix of artists and writers made "The Pink Hotel" a lively and important place for modern art and culture in Melbourne.

Mid-Career and New Adventures

In 1948, Lina Bryans had her first art show where only her paintings were displayed. One important painting was Portrait of Nina Christesen (1947), which she painted at Darebin. She sold this painting and then moved to Harkaway, near Berwick.

She took a few art lessons from George Bell in 1948 and from Mary Cockburn Mercer in 1951. In 1953, she traveled to America and then to France. In France, she studied for a few months at La Grande Chaumière, a famous art school. She also visited Mary Cockburn Mercer in southern France. When she returned to Melbourne, she once again became an important part of the city's art scene.

Recognized for Her Art

Painting landscapes was always very important to Lina Bryans. In the 1960s and 1970s, her landscape paintings became more dramatic and abstract. In 1965, she visited Central Australia and painted modern artworks of the Australian bush using very bright colors.

She won the 1966 Crouch Prize for her painting Embedded Rock (1964). Her major artwork, Landscape Quartet, was shown at her second solo exhibition in 1966. The National Gallery of Victoria bought this painting. The gallery also held a special exhibition of her work in 1982, which then traveled to other galleries in Victoria.

Lina Bryans was especially known for her portraits. She painted 73 portraits of her friends who were involved in art and writing. These portraits tell a story of her own life through the people she knew. One of her most famous portraits is The Babe is Wise, painted in 1940. It shows the Australian writer Jean May Campbell. This painting is now kept at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Lina Bryans was a member of the Independent Group of artists. In 1991, she rejoined the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors. She had first joined this group in 1940 but left in 1966. In the 1960s, she was one of the most important artists linked to the Society. Art critics often said her works were the best in the group's shows.

In 1994, Lina Bryans was given the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). This award was for her "service to the visual arts as a landscape painter."

Exhibitions and Collections

Lina Bryans' art was shown in many places during her career.

Solo Exhibitions

  • 1948, 1966: Georges Gallery, Melbourne.

Major Group Exhibitions

  • 1937: Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne.
  • 1941: Art of Australia, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
  • 1988: Creating Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia.
  • 1988: The Face of Australia (a national traveling exhibition).
  • 1982: Retrospective exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria.
  • 1992: Survey exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria.
  • 1995: Survey exhibition, University of Melbourne.

Art in Collections

Lina Bryans' paintings are held in many important art collections around the world. Some of these include:

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