He was born in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. On leaving school he was apprenticed to a company fitting out shops and making boxes.In later years before he became famous, he would support himself by making picture frames.
At the age of 16 he began classes at the National Gallery School, including painting under William Dargie.
His first prints were made in the 1950s when he was living in London and are figurative and generally naturalistic. They include two series, one of characters from London music halls, the other of scenes of everyday life. Examples include 'Windmill Girls’ 1955-56, printed 1966, etching & drypoint, plate tone on blue paper, edn 23/28, 10.9 × 16.4 cm,
NGV, and 'Tumblers No.2’ 1956, a red chalk drawing transformed into an etching on zinc plate in 1961 after he returned to Melbourne. He continued to work on it until 1967 as well as painting two versions of the subject in oils.
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- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1996
- Last updated:
- 2012
