biography

Ivars Jansons was born in Latvia in 1939, and migrated to Australia in 1949. After he left high school Ivars studied architecture, and then worked with leading Adelaide architects until 1964, thereafter concentrating fully on art, which had been a great interest from an early age. Ivars turned professional in 1967 and he also held his first one-man exhibition in Melbourne. He has subsequently held many successful solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth. He has taken part in many mixed exhibitions and has exhibited with the Australian Watercolour Institute. He was one of three artists to exhibit their work in The Hague, Holland at an exhibition of Australian art in 1984. Ivars has also exhibited in Tokyo and the New York Art Expo.

During 1972-73 Ivars took an extensive study and painting tour of the UK and Europe. A school in St Ives, Cornwall was recommended and there he studied with eminent British portraitist Leonard Fuller who in turn studied under John Singer Sargent. Ivars exhibited his work with Madden Galleries in London. He has since exhibited many times in London.

He is represented in many private and municipal collections of note, both in Australia and overseas, including the Inchcape Collection of London, Benalla Art Gallery, the ANZ and National banking groups, City of Marion Fine Art Collection and the SA Institute of Teachers.