Henri BASTIN

Henri Bastin was born in Belgium and arrived in Port Pirie, South Australia in 1922. He first started painting in the mid-1950s and became a prolific Australian landscape painter known for his naive style and bright palette. From the late 1960s Australian native animals, especially cockatoos and birds of paradise with outstretched wings were a recurring motif in his paintings. His works are held in other major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia and Heide Museum of Modern Art. The artists friend and esteemed writer Geoffrey Dutton established a public memorial fund in order to purchase this large canvas entitled Paradise Australia, which was Bastin's last completed work before his death in 1979, acquired specially for Adelaide Festival Centre.