Prominent artist and regular Archibald finalist Jason Benjamin found dead at 50 - ABC News

Award-winning artist Jason Benjamin has been found dead after being reported missing from the south-west NSW town of Carrathool at the weekend.

Key points:

• Australian artist Jason Benjamin has died following reports he was missing from south-west NSW at the weekend
• Mr Benjamin was famous for painting musicians such as Paul Kelly, and Australian landscapes
• Friend Tim Olsen said the artist struggled with success

Police found the body of the 50-year-old in the Murrumbidgee River following a search of the area on Tuesday.

Mr Benjamin has had his work exhibited in the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Parliament House Collection and in over 40 solo shows globally.

He was an Archibald Prize finalist multiple times and won the Packing Room Prize in 2005 for his painting of late actor Bill Hunter.

Australian actor Bill Hunter standing in front of his portrait by Jason Benjamin, which won the Archibald's Packing Room Prize in 2005.(AAP)

But the artist's bread and butter were evocative pieces of the Australian landscape, ranging from Alice Springs to Broken Hill.

Sydney Gallery Nanda\Hobbs represented Mr Benjamin and director Ralph Hobbs said it was a tragedy his life and work had been cut short.

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"I like to call them romantic landscapes; they were always telling stories about things close to him," Mr Hobbs said.

"He felt life very intensely so it wasn't just about painting trees and skies, it was a layered story of love loss, romance all through these works," he said.

"When he was in a landscape he wasn't just creating images of it, he was really feeling what it was to be in this place."

Art dealer Ralph Hobbs said Jason Benjamin painted 'romantic' landscapes (A meeting with Christ: Jason Benjamin 2019-2020)(Supplied: nanda\hobbs)

Mr Benjamin, was reported missing on Monday afternoon. He'd last been seen in Carrathool, NSW at 8pm on February 13th and had been staying at a nearby campsite.

Mr Hobbs said he'd been traveling through western NSW in preparation for an upcoming exhibition.

"He was really excited about that, about poems he was working on as well, they were going to be attached to those paintings."

Success from a young age

Born in Melbourne in 1971, Mr Benjamin spent his childhood in the USA and Mexico, before moving to Sydney for high school.

Jason Benjamin's painting of Tim Rogers (2014) was one of his many works shortlisted as a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Pize.(Supplied)

At 16 he received a scholarship to study art at The Stony Brook School and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, exhibiting his first group show in downtown Manhattan in 1989. He returned to Australia in the 1990's.

Mr Benjamin went on to win the Mosman Art Prizes in 1993, 1994 and 1996 and painted portraits of musicians Paul Kelly and Tim Rogers in Archibald Prize entries.

Tim Olsen, Director of Olsen Galleries and son of famed artist John Olsen, was one of the first people to exhibit Mr Benjamin, and they remained close friends for years.

"It was the sadness and melancholy in his work which was parallel to his own life," he said.

"He got distracted by the promise of big money and lost his way a bit, but that's what happens with young talent.

"Jason didn't know how to deal with success. It's an enormous tragedy."

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2021-02-18 01:15:00Z
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