Frederick William Leist (21 August 1878 – 20 March 1945) was an Australian artist. During the First World War, he was an official war artist with Australian forces in Europe.[1]
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Leist studied at the Sydney Art School studying under Julian Ashton,[2] from whom he learned plein air techniques.[1]
In the 1890s, he began working as a black-and-white artist for The Bulletin and The Sydney Mail newspapers. After 1900, he also the Sydney representative for the Graphic magazine of London.[1]
In 1917, Leist was appointed as an official war artist to serve with the Australian Imperial Force in France.[3]
Leist completed numerous paintings during the war and after his war service contributed two large murals for the Australian Exhibition at the British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley in 1924.[2] As a result of these works Leist popularity increased and he gained several commissions from the United States and toured the south west of America, including Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.[2]
Returning to Australia in 1926, Leist took up a position as the Head of Painting at the East Sydney Technical College.[2]
Leist died at Mosman, Sydney in 1945. He was survived by his wife Ada.
Leist is represented in the Art Gallery of New South Wales with ten works as well a representations in several private collections. Many of his paintings as a war artist are in the collection of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Some of his portraits are in Parliament House, Canberra.