David Naseby Bob Ellis

Bob Ellis is a filmmaker, writer and self-confessed opinionated polemicist. David Naseby met him while painting poet Les Murray – Ellis’s good friend and sparring partner – for last year’s Archibald Prize. Ellis was making a documentary about their friendship and shot a scene in Naseby’s studio. So taken was Ellis with Murray’s portrait that it was used as a background for the final credits of the documentary. For his part, Naseby was so taken with Ellis – “his intelligence and the way he handled things in a confused but controlled way” – that he said, “I think I should paint you for next year’s Archibald.”

“I think you should”, rejoined Ellis.

The style of the portrait looked after itself, says Naseby. “I think I’ve gone closer to caricature than I’ve ever done before. I emphasised the size of his head, narrowed the shoulders and emphasised his gut as a reflection of who he is.” Naseby finds it hard to define his painting style. “You just present things that look like they are but make the viewer feel the way they are.”

Born in England in 1937, Naseby studied at the Midlands School of Art. Arriving in Australia in 1953, he studied at the Queensland College of Art before moving to Sydney where he worked as an illustrator. In 1994 he began painting full time. He was a finalist in the 1995 and 1998 Archibald, both times with portraits of Murray.

Naseby’s portrait of Ellis is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.