Queensland based artist born in 1951 in the United Kingdom. Friend studied at the Eastbourne College of Art from 1967-69. Between 1969-70 he completed a foundation year at the Exeter College of Art, and from 1970-73 he completed a Diploma in Art and Design at the Birmingham College of Art. In 1975 Friend was awarded a Higher Diploma in Fine Art from the Slade School of Art London. Friend’s numerous solo exhibitions include a survey exhibition of his work at the Queensland University of Technology in 2008.

In 1975 Friend was awarded the Boise Travelling Fellowship by the Slade School of Fine Art, while in 1976 he was awarded the Arts Council of Great Britain Award and in 1981 he received the Thornton Bequest from the Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1982 Friend received the Greater London Arts Association Award and in 1987 he was awarded the second prize at the Eighth British International Drawing Biennale. Between 2000-02 Friend twice received the Hutchins Prize Judges Award and once gained first prize in the Hutchins Prize.

Friend is represented in the collections of Artbank, The Arts Council of Great Britain, The Australian Embassy in Washington DC, The Australian War Memorial, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, The British Museum, Deakin University Library, Geelong Grammar School, The Hutchins Foundation in Hobart, La Trobe University Gallery, Monash University Gallery, The National Gallery of Australia, The National Gallery of Victoria, The National Library of Australia, New England Regional Art Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Robert Holmes a Court Collection, The Tate Gallery, The University College of Central Queensland, The University of Tasmania and The University of Western Australia.

Writers:
Stella Downer
Date written:
2001
Last updated:
2011