Early Life, Family and Training

Lawrence Daws arrived into the world on 25 December 1927 in Adelaide, Australia. He was raised within an art-loving family on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, a setting that nurtured his early sensibilities. Though his path toward the canvas was not immediate, the influence of his surroundings and his kin provided a steady foundation for the creative life that would follow. Before he ever committed himself fully to the brush, he pursued a different kind of precision, training as an engineer.

This technical discipline did not remain a mere diversion. His professional life took him to New Guinea, where he worked as a geologist. It was during this time, amidst the rugged landscapes and the physical realities of the earth, that he made the decision to leave the sciences behind and embrace the life of an artist. This transition marked a profound shift from the study of the physical world to the interpretation of it through paint and print.

Seeking to refine his vision, he moved to Melbourne to attend the National Gallery Art School. This period of formal study allowed him to transform his innate curiosity into a disciplined practice. By the time he completed his training, he possessed both the technical rigor of an engineer and the observational eye of a man who had studied the very bones of the earth. He left Melbourne prepared to face the complexities of a changing artistic landscape.

Life and Career in London and Italy

After his early training and a period working as a geologist in New Guinea, Daws sought the light and perspective of Europe. He spent the years 1958 to 1959 living in Italy, an experience that would later inform his travels through India and Mexico. This time abroad allowed him to move away from his technical beginnings and toward the expressive potential of paint. He was a man shaped by movement, drifting from the Mediterranean toward the bustling energy of the United Kingdom.

By the 1960s, he had established himself in London. He was part of a significant circle of Australian artists exhibiting in the city, sharing the stage with figures such as Brett Whiteley. It was during these London years that his interests began to shift from the purely physical landscape toward the internal terrain of the mind. He found himself drawn to the writings of Carl Jung, studying the ideas of the collective unconscious and symbolism. This intellectual curiosity began to seep into his practice, turning his gaze toward the psychological depths that would define much of his later work.

Life and Work in Queensland

Upon returning to Australia, the artist sought a connection to the landscape that would shape his later years. In 1970, he found himself on Bribie Island, a brief chapter before settling into the lush, green surroundings of the Glasshouse Mountains. By 1974, he had moved to a property known as Owl Creek, situated on the edge of a Queensland rainforest. This environment, with its undulating terrain and monolithic forms, became a central presence in his life and a primary subject for his canvases. He remained in this region for four decades, living near Beerwah until 2010.

His presence in the local art community grew alongside his residence. In 1977, he began serving as a Trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery, where he took an active hand in the acquisition of significant works. His time in the north was not merely a period of quiet observation; it was a time of deep engagement with the physical and spiritual qualities of the land. The mountains that loomed near his home provided a sense of scale and mystery that he sought to translate through his various media.

• Owl Creek III (1979–80)

Technique and Artistic Style

His hand moved through many mediums, seeking the right way to capture the world. He worked with the weight of oil and the lightness of watercolour, often turning to drawing, screenprints, etchings, and monotypes to find his voice. In the 1980s, he looked toward the future, becoming perhaps the first established Australian painter to embrace the new frontier of computer prints. This technical curiosity allowed him to explore a vast range of subjects, from the quietude of domestic interiors and the human form of nudes to the more unsettling presence of snake handlers.

The landscapes he painted were never merely scenery; they were reflections of a deeper, internal searching. He drew strength from the deserts, the dense Tasmanian forests, and the tropical rainforests of Queensland. These physical spaces often mirrored his preoccupation with the unseen. He was deeply moved by the ideas of Carl Jung and the complexities of the human psyche, finding a way to weave philosophy and literature into his visual language. His work often felt like a meditation on the unconscious, shaped by his fascination with Taoism, the I Ching, and the symbolism of the Tarot.

This intersection of the external world and the internal spirit gave his paintings an enigmatic quality. He sought to explore the expressive potential of paint itself, using it to navigate the space between the tangible earth and the abstract mind. His compositions often felt as though they were uncovering something hidden within the terrain or the room.

Where to See the Works Today

To encounter the visual legacy of Lawrence Daws is to find his presence scattered across many significant institutions. His works reside within the collections of the Art Gallery of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria, ensuring his hand remains part of the Australian canon. In London, the Tate holds pieces that speak to his time spent in Europe, while the Ipswich Art Gallery preserves his contributions to the history of printmaking and painting.

The landscape of his career is also deeply rooted in the north. QAGOMA maintains works that reflect his long connection to the Queensland terrain. Furthermore, the National Gallery of Australia holds his pieces, allowing his explorations of form and space to be studied alongside other major figures. These various repositories ensure that his investigations into the natural and the psychological continue to be available to those who seek them.