A tapestry which is a greatly enlarged version of Arthur Boyd's painting hangs in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra

Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd AC OBE (20 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, with many relatives being painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval, and then Sidney Nolan. His wife Yvonne Boyd née Lennie, and daughter Polly are also painters. Download high resolution version (1280x960, 319 KB)Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra, taken by myself. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 319 KB)Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra, taken by myself. ... Parliament House Canberra: The main entrance and the flag Parliament House is the name given to two purpose-built buildings opened in 1988 in Canberra, the capital of Australia. ... Insignia of a Companion of the Order of Australia. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (115th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Boyd family is perhaps Australia’s most famous and prolific artistic dynasty, as painters, artists, illustrationists, sculptors, potters, ceramists, writers, architects, digital technicians, graphic designers, and musicians, over several generations. ... The following list is a partial list of painters. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... An architect is a person licensed in the art of planning, designing and overseeing the construction of buildings, or more generally, the designer of a scheme or plan. ... John Perceval self portrait (1946) John Perceval, b. ... Nolans Painting of Ned Kelly on trial Icon based on Ned Kelly painting series Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (April 22, 1917 - 28 November 1992) was one of Australias most well-known painters. ...

He was born at Murrumbeena, Victoria. Boyd had no formal training in painting and drawing however he studied with his grandfather Arthur Merric Boyd, the New Zealand born landscape painter. He is represented in all Australian state galleries. Boyd is best known for his experimental and sometimes complex painting of figures and impressionist, pastoral landscapes. Murrumbeena is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Arthur Merric Boyd (born at Dunedin, New Zealand, on 19 March 1862; died at Melbourne, Australia, in July 1940) was an Australian painter, and founder of the Boyd artistic dynasty. ...

Career

His early paintings were portraits and of Port Phillip Bay created while he was an adolescent, living in the suburbs of Melbourne. He moved to the inner city where he was influenced by his contact with European refugees. Reflecting this move in the late 1930s, his work moved into a distinct period of depictions of fanciful characters in urban settings. There is also Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. ...

He produced several series of works, including a collection of 15 biblical paintings based on the teaching of his mother, Doris Boyd née Gough. Later he produced a tempera series about large areas of sky and land, called the Wimmera series. The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... A 1367 tempera on wood by Niccolò Semitecolo. ... A typical daytime sky. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the 1940s he was a member of the Angry Penguins artistic and literary group. His best-known work is perhaps his Half caste bride series in the 1950s, which he did based on his experiences of having direct contact with Aborigines in Alice Springs in 1951. He represented Australia with Arthur Streeton at the Venice Biennale in 1958. He joined the Antipodeans Group in the Whitechapel gallery. Angry Penguins, an Australian literary and artistic movement of the 1940s based in Adelaide. ... Alice Springs on a large scale map Alice Springs is a large town in the Northern Territory of Australia located at 23°42′ S 133°52′ E. Its population of 28,178 (2001 Census) makes it the second-largest settlement in the Territory (the only other towns of... Arthur Streeton by George Lambert (1917). ... Detail of exhibition. ... The Antipodeans were a group of Australian figurative artists who published a manifesto in protest against abstract expressionism and its intolerance of figurative art in the late 1950s. ...

Avoiding the social issues raised in works such as Half Cast Child and feeling drawn to European styles of painting, Boyd moved permanently to Hampstead, London in 1960. The same year he held his first London exhibition. While here, Boyd entered another distinct period with his works themed around the idea of metamorphasis. See Hampstead (disambiguation) for other places named Hampstead. ... Transformation, or changing shape, from the Greek prefix meta-, equivalent to the English prefix trans-, and morph, meaning form. ...

He started another well known series of works, Nebuchadnezzar is 1966. This series was a statement of the human condition and is often considered to be his most beautiful. The human condition encompasses the totality of the experience of being human and living human lives. ...

He returned to Australia in 1971, as one of Australia's most highly regarded artists. In 1978 he bought properties and settled permanently at Bundanon on the Shoalhaven River, which he donated to the people of Australia in 1993. His creations now focused on the primevial natural settings found in the Australian bush and in later years explored the interplay between human land use and natural wilderness. Boyd was enthralled by his position near the river and by the scale and moods of the valley landscape. Bundanon is the home of the late Arthur Boyd. ... The Warri Bridge on the Kings Highway which crosses the river near Braidwood The Shoalhaven River is a river on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. ... For the restaurant chain, see Outback Steakhouse; for the station wagon, see Subaru Outback. ... Land use is the pattern of construction and activity land is used for. ... Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been modified by human activity. ...

In 1975 he presented several thousand works to the National Gallery of Australia. In 1979, he was honoured with the Order of Australia. He represented Australia at the Venice Biennale again in May 2000; his painting Dreaming Bridegroom I (1957) sold for $957,000. Another painting of the Bride series, Mourning Bride I (1958) has sold for $833,000. National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia is a major art gallery (museum) in Canberra, Australia. ... Insignia of a Companion of the Order of Australia. ...

Technique

Boyd was a master at manipulating elements to express himself. He developed new techniques when he was still a teenager and later changed technique depending on his preferred style, media, location and what he was depicting.

He would often use loose strokes of thickly coated brushes. He applied paint with his fingers and palm because it is quicker, while the body contact directly connected him with the painting. He believed this allowed for a greater sense of freedom and pleasure from the act of painting.

Selected Works

Arthur Boyd's subjects were often mythical, realistic, malformed people and monster, depicting a tragic drama ^[1].

• Creek near Rosebud 1937
• The Seasons 1944
• The Lovers 1944
• David and Saul 1946
• Wimmera Landscape 1950
• Merric Boyd 1952
• Half Cast Child 1957
• Moses leading the People 1957
• Lovers with a Bluebird 1962
• Figure supporting Back Legs 1973
• Riversdale Bushland 1976
• Flood receding one Winter Evening 1981
• Bathers Pulpit Rock 1985

External links

• Bundanon property

The Grampians

References

• Brenda Niall, The Boyds, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 2002. (ISBN 0-522-84871-0)
• 1985. Arthur Boyd:Figures in the Landscape. Produced and directed by Don Featherstone. Ronin Films.