Edgar Britt (OAM)

(30 October 1913 – 28 January 2017)

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EXHIBITION: Donated to Avalon Community Library and currently on display from April 2018. 59A Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon Beach NSW 2107 (02) 99183013

 

R.I.P. Edgar - A good friend to many in Avalon and dear to our hearts. Edgars first win came aboard Gipsy King in January 1930 at Canterbury, in Sydney. The same year that Phar Lap won the Melbourne Cup. June 2004, aged 90, Edgar was awarded the Order of Australia Medal and inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.  
 
NOTES FROM THE ARTIST: Edgar was our next-door neighbour and came to our wedding on Avalon Headland. When Edgar was 95 we were walking up through the park and he said “I think I’m going to drop dead”. I said “Well I better do a painting of you then”... So I did
 
In a world ravaged by greed I was compelled to paint something good that had prevailed for so long. That was Edgar.  A warm hearted and beautiful human being. A true gentleman with a wry smile and a wicked sense of humour. The painting has deep perspective symbolising a long life. The young Edgar, in the gilded golden frame, is the legend already wavering. And, at age 16, depicts a young man’s strength and innocence with determination etched into his grip.

 

Edgar - Small in stature but large in character - I’ve captured his wry smile and a look of contentment for a great life plus, resignation that it’s all over… As he moves out of life and light into darkness. The wing like clouds tell their own storey and the painting carries a secret:  As the legend fades away the painting of the young Edgar, etched in ink, will also fade away. 

 

Painted by Avalon artist Stephen Fitzgerald: Acrylic & Ink on canvas 90cm x 90cm. For the Archibald Prize.