Harding entered the Faber-Castell Drawing Prize twice before being accepted on his third attempt. He took his work to Rex Irwin,the art dealer who hosted the event,and asked for an exhibition. Irwin,who regularly showed British artists such as Auerbach,Leon Kossoff and David Hockney,was Harding’s first and perhaps only choice.
It required several meetings over a couple of years but Irwin eventually gave him a debut exhibition in 1992. It was an instant success,and the beginning of a long,productive partnership. Over the next 20 years Harding had a show with Irwin every year – or every second year,after he began exhibiting with Philip Bacon in Brisbane and Sophie Gannon in Melbourne. When Irwin joined forces with Tim Olsen in 2013,Harding went along,staying with the Olsen Gallery after Irwin retired. Few artists make a career of 30 years,remaining loyal to only three galleries. With Irwin,it was not only a business relationship,but a three-decade friendship.
Harding was the loyal type. In 1974 he met Lynne Watkins,then a student at Sydney College of the Arts,and the couple stayed together until the end. Their son,Sam,was born in 1993.
The regular exhibitions with Irwin secured Harding a loyal following,although the art museums were slow to respond. Despite his thickly painted surfaces,Harding remained a very traditional artist,a maker of landscapes,portraits,still life and interiors. He was content to leave the political messages and “subversive” intentions to others. Like Cressida Campbell,an artist of a similar persuasion,he owed his early representation to Margaret Olley,who bought his paintings and donated them to public collections.
By 2000,Harding had become successful and confident enough to give up animation and devote himself entirely to his own work. The change made itself felt in a much brighter palette and a freer application of paint.
The following year Harding won the Archibald Prize for a portrait of John Bell in the role of King Lear. From that point he became a highly collectable artist. There were many notable exhibitions,includingDrawn to Paint,a survey at the S. H. Ervin Gallery in 2010;and28 Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra in 2017,which even included in-flight portraits drawn on airsick bags.
Harding became an Archibald Prize fixture,appearing on 19 occasions between 1997 and 2020. He won the People’s Choice award in 2005,for a portrait of veteran painter Bob Dickerson,swimming with his hat on. He happily painted his favourite subjects a second time,as he did with Bell,Olley,Margaret Whitlam and Rusty Peters. Success came with his second John Bell,but his best Archibald entry may have been a 2011 portrait of another actor,Hugo Weaving,who was a friend.
Weaving invited Harding to rehearsals of the Sydney Theatre Company’s production ofWaiting for Godot in 2013,and he quickly became addicted to these sessions. His theatre drawings eventually filled many sketchbooks,which were exhibited at the Olsen Gallery,and Manly Museum and Art Gallery in 2020.
When Lynne was asked if Harding had any favourite genre or motif,she said that he loved everything,from the theatre drawings to the panandus (palm-like trees) he painted on the north coast,and the trees he saw in the Flinders Ranges. Every picture was an exercise in problem-solving,which was what he enjoyed most. It’s hard to think of a single more impressive work thanWilpena Pound and Eucalyptus (Sliding Rock),which may be one of the all-time great bush landscapes.
Harding was at the peak of his powers when he was diagnosed with cancer at the base of the tongue in 2017. He fought the disease,and believed he’d beaten it,but two years later another tumour was discovered in his liver.
At the end,Harding was in the enviable position among artists of being able to sell almost everything he produced. This did not,however,change his attitude to life. His friends speak warmly of his good nature,his dedication to his work,and his humanity. “He was not a flashy man at all,” Irwin said. “He was gentle and kind,and interested in many things,which is why he had the kind of friends that a lot of artists don’t have.”
Nicholas Harding is survived by his wife,Lynne Watkins;son,Sam;father,Colin,and stepmother,Helen;brothers Chris and David,and sister,Jane. A final solo exhibition will be held at the Philip Bacon Galleries,Brisbane,from November 15-December 10.