AustLit

'WHEN he died in 1974 after a long period of self-imposed austerity and improvisation on Bribie Island, Queensland, Ian Fairweather was at the apex of his fame. He had been called ‘our greatest painter’, and his works were keenly sought by galleries, collectors and artists.

'Born in 1891 in Scotland, Fairweather had lived a peripatetic life, forever seeking the right place to settle. He was a prodigious and idiosyncratic letter writer—wryly documenting for friends and family members his travels, his struggles with his painting and Chinese translations, and the changing conditions on Bribie, as well as commenting on literature and world affairs.

'In their selection Claire Roberts and John Thompson have created the definitive volume of Fairweather’s correspondence: the closest thing to an autobiography of one of Australia’s most important and enduring artists.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In 1965, UQP first published artist Ian Fairweather's The Drunken Buddha. His iconic translation of an ancient Chinese novel, illustrated with his paintings, was praised by scholars and readers alike. Fairweather was fascintated by Chinese calligraphy and possessed great knowledge of popular Buddhism; his translation retains the spirit of both the original work and popular Chinese literature in general.

'This new edition celebrates Fairweather's creative legacy; and the classic tale of Buddhist monk Chi-Tien, often drunk and irreverent but nonetheless considered a saint, continues to resonate across the decades.' (Special edition abstract)