Alex Mendelssohn,
one of the world's most prolific abstract artists
{ Over 3000 oil paintings in 44 years}
Composing On Canvas
Portrait of Alex Mendelssohn, courtesy of Jase Munn, Australia
Alexander Mendelssohn (30 May 1935 - 10 December 2017) is an outback artist and opal miner in Australia of Hungarian descent. Popularly known as Alex, or his birth name Sándor (variant of the name Alexander in Hungary), he is the great-great-grandson of Felix Mendelssohn the Romantic German composer who gave the world the famous Wedding March overture.
In one of his interviews with Adelaide Now (September 2000) Alex Mendelssohn is quoted as saying "He (Felix Mendelssohn) composed on piano, and I compose on canvas."
In another interview with journalist Kristina Meredith of Country Press South Australia, Alex Mendelssohn professed to be a born rebel and an adventurer at heart. He migrated from war-worn Hungary in the early 1950s to mine for opal in the stark opal town of Andamooka South Australia. In this isolated outback community built upon red earth, nicknamed ‘Mars on Earth’, he started painting in earnest in 1973, sold his first painting for five dollars, and has never ceased to paint.
Painting consistently for over 44 years, Alex Mendelssohn’s prolific portfolio of artworks has exceeded 3000 pieces of oil paintings, some of which he donated towards charitable causes over the years, and many are in private collections around the world in the United States, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Vietnam.
A poignant moment for Alex Mendelssohn was when he painted for the celebrated virtuoso violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn who owns the legendary 1720 Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius violin.