James Montgomery Cant (1911-1982) was an Australian artist who gained recognition for his avant-garde approach, and later for his social realism works. Cant's passion for art began during his youth when he attended Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo's Saturday morning classes, followed by his enrollment at East Sydney Technical College and Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School. He moved to London in 1934 and was exposed to modernist art and artists by Roy de Maistre, resulting in his most daring and adventurous works experimenting with late cubist styles and surrealism, including sculptures and assemblages exhibited in London in 1937 and 1938. After returning to Australia in 1939, he held a one-man show at the Macquarie Galleries the following year.
Cant was hired as a display advisor by the Australian Museum, where he also painted arid Australian landscapes and works influenced by Aboriginal art. His passion for art and exploration led him to produce reconstructions of Oenpelli rock art, which he exhibited in London in 1949. During this period, he explored a gentle form of social realism, influenced by the populated streetscapes of L.S. Lowry. His use of the wax-encaustic technique added a subtle pearly tone to his paintings of London street scenes and industrial sites.
In 1956, Cant settled in Adelaide with his wife, Dora Cecil Chapman, who financially supported him throughout most of their marriage. His South Australian landscapes, including "Birds in the Bush" and "The Yellow Hill" (1959), and his ultimate "grass-scape," "Dry Grass" (1964), were highly textured and almost calligraphic works that were successfully exhibited throughout Australia. Cant continued to explore and experiment throughout his life, leaving behind a legacy as an avant-garde and social realist artist that endures to this day.
