Grahame Sydney was born in Dunedin in 1948 and began his full-time art career in 1974. He is one of New Zealand's preeminent artists, and works skilfully across numerous media including oil, watercolour, tempera and lithograph. There is a feeling of essentialism to Sydney's work, which is rooted in both the choice of subject matter and photorealist style. It confirms him as an artist both of and for New Zealand, and is reflected in everything from the monumental timelessness of Otago landscapes to the lyrical allure of his painted nudes.