Carlton
Clifford Bayliss
16 November - 5 December 2007
Paintings, drawings and sculptures from the estate of the artist in London
Born in 1912, a Footscray boy, Bayliss won the 1935 travelling scholarship at the National Gallery School. The following year he left for London and never returned. The art critic, Alan McCulloch, recalled in his conversations with Christopher Heathcote in Art Monthly April 1993 that “ . . . there were some wonderful students, Roger Kemp . . . had a lot of talent but the star was Clifford Bayliss who could draw like Leonardo, was very poor and did these beautiful drawings . . . destined to win the travelling scholarship which he did. But at the wrong time, just before the war, and arrived in London and vanished into the services . . . “
He survived after the war through teaching at the London Central School of Art and Design and the Croydon College of Art and Technology. He worked also at the Royal Opera House as a production assistant. Surviving works from that period are included in this new exhibition, notably a stunning portrait of Margot Fonteyn as Ondine in Frederick Ashton’s 1958 ballet of the same name and a drawing of Rudolph Nureyev with several dancers. Bayliss knew them all and was very highly regarded at the Royal Opera House.
In the words of Bernard Smith, Clifford Bayliss was one of this country’s finest artists and no collection of Australian art is complete without representation from his palette or pen !
Clifford Bayliss
Profile of Woman 1945-46
Pencil
37.5 x 25.5 cm
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Two Confronting Women with Shouting Man
Ink
19.5 x 30.5 cm
Purchased by the National Gallery, Canberra
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Winged Figure 1946
Black conté and pastel on tinted paper
30.2 x 24.7 cm
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Big Rock and Small Rock 1946
Black conté and pastel on tinted paper
33.7 x 24.7 cm
$1,850
Clifford Bayliss
Boxer, Victor 1947
Pencil and crayon on tinted paper
27.5 x 18.3 cm
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Bombed Building in the Blitz c1945
Pencil
11.5 x 20.2 cm
Purchased by the Australian War Memorial
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Alberich with a Maiden from The Ring 1952
Designer Leslie Hurry
Pencil
81 x 56 cm
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Astrologer from Le Coq D’Or c1955
Designer Loudon Sainthill
Choreographer Robert Helpman
Pencil
89 x 56 cm
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Study in Violet with Red and Gold Circles 1965-70
Oil on hardboard
61 x 61 cm
Clifford Bayliss
Study in Green Shades with Orange and Red Shapes 1965-70
Acrylic on hardboard
61 x 61 cm
Clifford Bayliss
Abstract in White, Orange, Yellow and Blue 1965-70
Oil on hardboard
91 x 61 cm
$5,500
Clifford Bayliss
Abstract in Green, Blue, Orange, Yellow and Violet 1965-70
Oil on hardboard
91 x 61 cm
$5,500
Clifford Bayliss
Flying Forms, Grey Tone Study 1965-70
Oil on hardboard
91 x 61 cm
Clifford Bayliss
Towers, Grey Tone Study 1965-70
Oil on hardboard
91 x 61 cm
Clifford Bayliss
Colour Study in Black, White, Reds and Greens 1970
Gouache
25.4 x 25.4 cm
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Colour Study in Black, White, Green, Blue, Orange and Red 1970
Gouache
18 x 24.5 cm
Sold
Clifford Bayliss
Tower with Arms and Chains 1970-80
Metal sculpture of soldered tin, brass plates, chains and watch parts
135 cm
$4,500
Clifford Bayliss
Towers 1970-80
Metal sculpture of soldered tin, watch faces, brass and chain
99 cm
Sold
