240 p., [32] p. of plates : 25 cm #030522 (Name on fep, edge tears to jacket.))
Hugh Reskymer “Kym” Bonython, AC, DFC, AFC (15 September 1920 – 19 March 2011) was an Australian politician, World War Two veteran, musician, gallery owner, and racing driver.
He was a prominent and active member of society in Adelaide, Australia. He had a distinguished career as a pilot during the Second World War, was a jazz drummer, owned an art gallery, raced speedcars, and served on the Adelaide City Council.
Along with music, Bonython had a passion for art, and he began his collection in 1945. In 1961 he opened his first gallery, the Bonython Art Gallery in North Adelaide, (which later became the Bonython Meadmore gallery). His first major exhibition was British Art of the 1960s, where he exhibited the first painting of Francis Bacon shown in Australia. He subsequently moved to Sydney to open the Hungry Horse Gallery in Paddington in 1966. His time with his Sydney gallery ended in 1976, and he returned to Adelaide to buy back his original gallery, operating it until 1983.[19] From 1988 Bonython managed a Sydney gallery once more, managing the BMG Fine Art for a short time.
Bonython’s eye for contemporary art saw his galleries promote many Australian and international artists, including Sidney Nolan, Pro Hart and William Dobell, and he is widely acknowledged to have discovered and fostered the work of Brett Whiteley. Along with the art galleries and his personal collection (much of which was destroyed when the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 engulfed his Mount Lofty property, “Eurilla”[20]), Bonython authored and published a number of art books.
onython, Kym, 1920-2011 | Australia. Royal Australian Air Force — Biography. | Arts. Australia. Bonython, Kym. Autobiographies. | Art, Modern — 20th century. | Art, Australian — 20th century. | South Australia — Biography — Anecdotes.
Publications
Modern Australian Painting & Sculpture: A Survey of Australian Art from 1950 to 1960, Rigby, Adelaide, 1960.
Modern Australian Painting 1960-70, Rigby, Adelaide, 1970, ISBN 9780709115816.
Modern Australian Painting 1970-75, Rigby, Adelaide, 1976, ISBN 9780727000873, Kym Bonython & Elwynn Lynn
Modern Australian Painting 1975-80, Rigby, Adelaide, 1980, ISBN 9780727012265.
Modern Australian Painting 1950-75, Rigby, Adelaide, 1980, ISBN 9780727013682.
Ladies’ Legs and Lemonade, Adelaide: Rigby, 1979, ISBN 9780727011916.