The man who never saw his masterpiece

This is starting to feel like a theme in this series, but I can't resist it. Jørn Utzon designed the Sydney Opera House, those white shells against the harbour that everyone recognises, and then he never once saw it finished.

He resigned in 1966 after years of arguments over cost and control, and flew out of Australia that April, boarding the plane minutes before the doors closed behind him. The Opera House opened in 1973 without him there. He won the Pritzker Prize for it in 2003, one of architecture's biggest honours, and still didn't go back. He died in 2008 having never stood in front of his own finished building.

I painted this one in watercolour and ink, all those curved white shells catching the light off the harbour. There's a poster and a postcard, with a letter home and all the history if you'd like to read more!

Shop the poster here: Sydney Opera House, Australia · Travel Poster