B. 1897 – 1958 

Danila Vassilieff was instrumental in the development of Australian modernism. Born in Russia, he served in a Cossack cavalry regiment before being captured by Communist forces and escaping via Persia, China and then India. 

Vassilieff arrived in Australia in the late 1920s. Between then and 1936, he travelled extensively, exhibiting in the Caribbean, United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, and living in Brazil for two years. When he eventually settled back in Australia, he built a house in Warrandyte called Stonygrad where he taught painting and sculpture. 

Vassilieff’s naive, globally informed style was hugely influential. With John and Sunday Reed as his patrons, he was a key member of the Heide Circle, informing the practices of Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Charles Blackman and John Perceval. The Reed’s adopted son, Sweeney, even named one of his own children Danila. Represented across public collections, Vassilieff’s legacy is far reaching with recent scholarship suggesting he helped Nolan’s develop his revered Ned Kelly series. 

To read a more in-depth biography of the artist, click here.