"I'm the long stare,
not the quick glimpse."

Grahame Sydney's contribution to New Zealand art is considered so significant that in 2003 he was awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, (ONZM) for services to painting. For almost 30 years Sydney's paintings have been inspirational with their ability to evoke a sense of wonder and kinship. His works are sought after by local and international buyers as well as being held in the collections of New Zealand's major galleries, including Te Papa's national collection.

From childhood drawings of Disney characters in the 1950s, through to the large majestic landscapes of Otago forty years onward, Grahame Sydney's passion for painting has never diminished. He has worked widely in oils, watercolours, tempera, etchings and lithographs. Following his first solo exhibition at the Moray Gallery in 1972, he spent a period overseas in the United Kingdom and Europe before returning to Dunedin in 1974 to begin life as a full-time artist. Those years have witnessed an impressive and substantial body of work, and an extensive exhibition history.

"Sydney is a clever magician who plies his craft with great skill and subtlety, making paintings that are seemingly simple, but their plain reality tenders deeper emotions than simple recognition. You don't just see the land here, you feel it... These hills, these skies give us a voice that is unique, a voice that is evoked by the art of Grahame Sydney. It is the voice of us all." Keith Stewart.

The man and the artist can be more easily understood through the Montana Award winning book "The Art of Grahame Sydney" which includes a brief autobiographical outline of Sydney's early art development, a personal response by poet Brian Turner, essays from art curators Michael Findlay and Belinda Jones, and an extended and insightful interview with Grahame Sydney by photographer Reg Graham.

Biographical Notes