Andrew Sayers: Undiminished ardour for study, gaiety of company

In his last phase, cut short by illness, Andrew Sayers developed a talent, and a passion, long kept to himself.

The death of Andrew Sayers is a profound loss not only to his many friends, but also to the art, historical, museological and curatorial professions in which he distinguished himself during a varied and brilliant career.

Starting at the Art Gallery of NSW then becoming assistant director of the Newcastle Region Art Gallery, he became curator of Australian drawings at the National Gallery of Australia — when he produced an outstanding volume on the history of drawing in Australia — and then assistant director, publishing volumes on 19th-century Aboriginal artists and the history of Australian art.

He was foundation director of the National Portrait Gallery in 1998, establishing the institution, building the collection and commissioning and overseeing the building of its permanent home in Canberra. The design produced under his guidance was like Sayers in many ways: clear, elegant and unpretentious. He left in 2010 and spent three years at the National Museum.

In this last phase, cut short by illness, he was able to develop a talent, and a passion, long kept to himself. Few knew he painted, but an exhibition I reviewed in June revealed a fresh and distinctive talent, informed by an acute sensitivity to nature and a deep meditation on the history of art. He had already produced a striking self-portrait, and his portrait of Tim Bonyhady was one of the outstanding pictures in this year’s Archibald.

I met Sayers when we studied together at Sydney University and in later years it was always a pleasure to spend time with one of the most intelligent and engaging people in Australian art. His patience and good nature, not least during his illness, were an example to all.

After one of the last times I saw him and his wife, Perry, he wrote: “Like David Hume, whose My Own Life I find immensely wise and uplifting, I possess an undiminished ardour for study and the gaiety of company.”

We may all aspire to live with such vitality and generosity of spirit.