Background
McInnes was born in Street Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne to Malcolm McInnes and his wife Alice Agnes, née Beckwith.
McInnes was born in Street Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne to Malcolm McInnes and his wife Alice Agnes, née Beckwith.
Despite lack of family artistic tradition, he was keen to draw from the time he could hold a pencil. In 1903, at 14 years of age, he enrolled in the drawing school of the National Gallery of Victoria under Frederick McCubbin. Later he moved up to the painting school under Lindsay Bernard Hall.
McInnes was represented in London at the exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in oils in 1913.
McInnes returned to Melbourne in the same year. A one-man show was held at the Athenaeum gallery and nearly everything was sold.
In 1916 he acted as locum tenens for Frederick McCubbin, master of the school of drawing at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, during his six months" leave of absence, and after his death was temporarily appointed to the position in 1918. In 1920 he was permanently appointed.
McInnes revisited Europe in 1925 and on his return found he was in great demand as a portrait painter.
Foreign many years he was unable to spare time to do landscape work. In 1928 he exhibited with the Royal Academy, and in 1933 he visited England again to paint the Duke of York (later King George VI). In the following year, on Bernard Hall leaving for England as adviser for the Felton bequest, McInnes was appointed acting-director of the National Gallery of Victoria, and on Mr Hall"s death was appointed head of the painting school.
Amongst other portraits by McInnes were those of the surgeons Archibald Watson and Wood Jones.
McInnes had suffered from an imperfect heart all his life, his general health became affected and in July 1939 he resigned his position as master of the school of painting. He died on 9 November 1939.
McInnes" artwork has been featured at the Art Gallery of South Australia. In addition, McInnes has painted a variety of important people in Australian history including officials and aristocratic families.
McInnes" Archibald Prize winners
1921 - Desbrowe Annear
1922 - Professor Harrison Moore
1923 - Portrait of a Lady
1924 - Portrait of Mission Collins
1926 - Silk and Lace
1930 - Drum-Major Harry McClelland
1936 - Doctor Julian Smith.