Nepal, Oct. 21 -- Australian artist Robert Powell left a prodigious body of work across Asia that spanned Swat Valley to Angkor Wat, but it is the paintings he made while living in Nepal over 30 years that stand out.

An architect by training, the paintings show meticulous draughtsmanship and careful rendering of the colour, texture and form of Nepal's living spaces. Powell is said to have counted every brick on the facade of the Kutu Math in Bhaktapur, or the stones in the foundations of Lo Manthang chortens before painting them.

The paintings have an almost photographic accuracy, which is why it is surprising to learn that most of his paintings were not done in situ, but back in the studio based on pencil sketches, photographs and not...