Design and Art Australia Online

Pastellist and painter, and founding member of the Pastel Society of Australia. Leslie Joyce (Les) McDonaugh was born in Charleville on 6 January 1933, first child of James Leslie Joyce McDonaugh and Dorothy Charlotte McDonaugh née Thorne. He was educated in Warwick and later St Patrick’s School, Brisbane, when the family settled in Fortitude Valley and later Toowong in the mid-1940s.
Les McDonaugh enthusiastically made art throughout his youth; regularly entering the Sunday Mail’s weekly children’s corner drawing competition, for which he occasionally won prizes. Works by McDonaugh were also published and awarded purple certificates in The Sun’s ‘Cousin Marie’ children’s feature.(2) As a 19-year old, McDonaugh exhibited in the annual exhibition of the Younger Artists’ Group of the Royal Queensland Art Society. He was educated at the Central Technical College, where he studied drawing and painting under Melville Haysom and David Fowler.(3)
Les married Lavinia Maud Lawson (6/3/1937-3/4/1993) on 22 December 1955. Lavinia supported Les’ art career economically and emotionally until her death.(4) In the late 1960s and early 1970s McDonaugh exhibited at the RNA art exhibitions, and from the mid-1970s was featured in solo exhibitions at commercial galleries. At the same time he continued to participate in exhibitions at the Royal Queensland Art Society. Critics noted his vibrant palette and bold application throughout his works.(5) In 1978 he travelled to Sturt’s Stony Desert near Cadelga to paint, and in 1979 his first solo show of oil paintings was hung. (6) In 1985 his work was featured in an exhibition of Northern Australian artists organised by the 1985 Australian Art Expo in Cairns; this exhibition later travelled to the United States with support from the Queensland Government.(7) Around the same time, McDonaugh was involved in the establishment of the Pastel Society of Australia, in which he executed Vice-Presidential duties.(8)
In the 1980s and 1990s, McDonaugh continued to exhibit work in solo and group exhibitions including several exhibitions at Beaver Galleries, Canberra, and produced a series of instructional videos and pastel and painting. He also painted murals for the Inala Library.(9) One of his grandsons, John Woodrow Charlton was commissioned to paint over his mural in 2008 as it was beyond repair.(10)
After the death of his wife Lavinia in 1993, he changed his style and exhibited more nostalgia, referencing his Irish heritage in his 1995 exhibition.(11) He regularly discussed his biography throughout interviews in later life. He continued to produce work and exhibit until his death.(12)
McDonaugh died on 7 February 2003. He was survived by his second wife, and children from his first marriage, Elena, James, Gary and Robyn.(13) Works by McDonaugh are usually signed 'L McDonaugh’, sometimes bearing the date of creation.

(1) Patricia Kelly, ‘Bay islands became artist’s great muse’, Courier Mail, Tuesday 4 March 2003, p 18.
(2) Sunday Mail, 23 April 1944, p 5; 28 May 1944, p 5; 10 December 1944, p 6; 12 September 1948, p 7. The Sun, 14 April 1946, p 6; 2 March 1947, p 10; 9 March 1947, p 4; 15 February 1948, p 3; 11 April 1948, p 3; 19 December 1948, p 3.
(3) Courier Mail, Wednesday 11 January 1950, p 11; Tue 19 August 1952, p 2. Northern Australian Artists exhibition catalogue: 1985, Australian Art Expo, Cairns, p 7.
(4) Information supplied by descendants of Les McDonaugh.
(5) Sunday Mail, 20 June 1976; 28 May 1978
(6) Sunday Mail, 28 January 1978; 7 October 1979.
(7) Northern Australian Artists exhibition catalogue: 1985, Australian Art Expo, Cairns.
(8) The Pastellist (newsletter), February 1988. Bayside Bulletin, 18 April 1995, p 4.
(9) The Satellite, 13 June 1990, p 1; Bayside Bulletin, 18 April 1995, p 4.
(10) Information supplied by descendants of Les McDonaugh.
(11) Information supplied by descendants of Les McDonaugh.
(12) Bayside Bulletin 18 April 1995, p 4; Tuesday November 3 1998 p 61; Patricia Kelly, ‘Bay islands became artist’s great muse’, Courier Mail, Tuesday 4 March 2003, p 18.
(13) Patricia Kelly, ‘Bay islands became artist’s great muse’, Courier Mail, Tuesday 4 March 2003, p 18.

Writers:

Timothy Roberts
JWCharlton

Date written:

2016

Last updated:

2021