Alumni Profile: Brian Kewley

I studied law at the University of Melbourne and graduated in 1954. The Law School had some excellent teachers, such as Zelman Cowen, David Derham and Norval Morris. I made some lifelong friendships there and, when I was in my third year, met and fell in love with a just-seventeen first year law student, Gretchen Bartlau. Gretchen went on to share the Supreme Court Prize in 1956, and we were married in 1957.We have two sons and a daughter, and four grandchildren.

In 1955, I did my articles at Moule Hamilton and Derham in Melbourne, and stayed with the firm for 52 years. During that time, the firm made links with other legal firms and changed its name to Moules, then to Freehill Hollingdale and Page, and finally to Freehills, its current name. I was a partner for 31 years, including 13 years as senior partner (in Melbourne), and a part-time consultant for the last 17 years.

I specialised in Intellectual Property and Competition Law, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was President of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia for some years, and later Chairman of the Trade Practices Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

At 18, I started painting, and I have been painting ever since, right through my busy legal career. My first solo exhibition was held in Melbourne in 1965, and since then I have had 26 solo shows, mainly in Melbourne, but also in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. In December 2006, I had an exhibition of Malta paintings at the Palazzo Parisio in Valetta in Malta. I am represented in the collections of the State Gallery of Victoria and Queensland, the Reserve Bank, Artbank, and in many corporate and private collections, both in Australia and overseas.

In 1975, I established a small vineyard on our property near Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula, one of the first vineyards to be planted in the area. I grow chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot. I make the wine myself, and thoroughly enjoy the whole process.

In 2007, Macmillan published a book of my paintings of Port Phillip and Westernport Bays entitled Bays and Beaches. It was launched at Freehills by fellow University of Melbourne graduate, Barry Jones.

I have established a website for my paintings that includes paintings from our many travels in Australia and overseas - www.briankewleyart.com