b. 1972

Marcus Wills is a realist figurative painter born in Kaniva, Victoria, in 1972. He studied a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, graduating in 1995, and in 2000 was awarded the prestigious Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.

Drawing inspiration from the art historical canon, including Hellenistic sculpture, Michelangelo, Rubens and Manet, Wills’ practice explores the enduring portrayal of the human form and condition. His paintings demonstrate a classical mastery of technique, imbued with a quiet drama and a pervasive sense of melancholy.

Wills has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize on six occasions and won the prize in 2006 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, for his portrait of sculptor Paul Juraszek, inspired by a sixteenth-century Flemish etching. His work is held in numerous private and public collections, including the Australian Catholic University Art Collection, Fitzroy, Victoria; Art Gallery of Ballarat, Victoria; Horsham Art Gallery, Victoria; Gold Coast City Gallery, Queensland; and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.