Vale

Vale Robert Eadie (1941−2025)

Robert Eadie died on August 22 at age 84, six decades after graduating from the National Art School in 1966. His friend Bill Brown remembers an artist who ​‘never taught ideals – in form, in concepts or outcomes. Instead, he showed students how to make sense of themselves, for the betterment of themselves.’

For twenty years Rob taught here, becoming Head of Drawing and Painting in 1985. Together with Ted Binder, he fought to rebuild the School after its dispersal in 1975, defending this campus and its educators. When casual staff faced redundancies in 1985, he organised protests – believing in the community we are today.

At 47, a near-fatal stroke changed everything. Most would have stopped. Rob reconsidered his priorities and pressed forward as an artist. Over the following decades he exhibited in the Biennale of Sydney, appeared multiple times as an Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman finalist, and last year showed Strange Light – work created with what his colleagues describe as ​‘typical integrity and artistic excellence.’

His student work remains in our Collection. Wedding Cake Island, Coogee, Storm Sea – his prize-winning 1985 painting – hangs on the ground floor of our library, a record of someone who understood that art demands both rigour and resilience.

Vale Bruce Goold

Bruce Goold moved through worlds – Newcastle to Kings Cross, printmaking studios to the Yellow House collective, Sydney to London and back again. He studied here around 1967 – 68, experimenting across mediums before finding his language in coloured linocuts and woodblocks.

Between 1970 and 1972, Bruce was part of transforming the old Clune Gallery into the Yellow House – painting its exterior bright yellow, covering interior walls with murals and portraits. Alongside Martin Sharp, Brett Whiteley, Peter Wright, Greg Weight, and Peter Kingston, he turned a building into an artwork and a gathering place for Sydney’s creative community.

His prints captured Australian flora and fauna with a distinctive vision – bold, symbolic, esoteric. He held solo exhibitions across Sydney, Melbourne, London, and Ireland. From 1992 he worked as a designer for Mambo, bringing his graphic sensibility to another

generation. A 2008 retrospective at Manly Art Gallery & Museum – Bruce Goold, Artist, Designer, Printmaker – showed the scope of his practice.

Bruce understood that art moves between contexts, that a single practice can inhabit galleries, streetwear, posters, and walls. We remember an artist who stayed curious, collaborative, and committed to making.

Vale Kevin Connor

At sixteen, Kevin Connor enrolled as a night student at what was then East Sydney Technical College, training as a commercial artist by day. His employer paid the fees. It was here he discovered something that stayed with him into his nineties: ​‘The nature of art is both enigmatic and non-commercial.’

That realisation shaped a prolific, dedicated life. Over seventy solo exhibitions. Two Archibald Prizes. Two Sulman Prizes. Two Dobell Prizes for Drawing. The Harkness Fellow in New York. A Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Major retrospectives at the AGNSW. In 1989 and 2006. And between 1972 and 1987, he returned here to teach painting and drawing, passing on what this place had given him.

In 2016, the National Art School made Kevin a Fellow. In 2018 he donated works to our Collection for the exhibition National Art: Part One. These gestures completed a circle – from night student paying his way, to one of Australia’s most respected artists, to someone who helped shape the next generations.

Kevin Connor died at 92, having spent his life proving that art demands both mystery and commitment, and that the two are inseparable.

Vale Kay Lanceley

The National Art School was saddened to hear of the recent death of long time NAS supporter Kay Lanceley. She was the partner of NAS alumnus and Fellow Colin Lanceley for 50 years.

After his death in 2015 she continued to keep his legacy alive by donating many of his artworks to the National Art School Collection and helping organise and fund a major retrospective of his work in the NAS Gallery in 2022.

Vale Jack Colwell (1989 – 2024)

The National Art School was saddened to hear of the death of alumnus Jack Colwell in October 2024.

Jack first studied music at the Conservatorium in Sydney. Although his heart was always with his music, he then decided to study at the National Art School, where he found like-minded friends and a safe place to explore the direction in life he wanted to take. Jack completed his BFA in sculpture in 2012, and was a huge hit at the NAS Ball in the Cell Block Theatre that year, dressed in a blonde wig and performing on stage with other NAS students.

During the last 12 years of his life, he became a successful singer songwriter and musical director, creating memorable and moving music videos. He performed with his band Jack Colwell and the Owls, was backed by a string quartet at a sell-out show at Sydney Opera House, and his debut album Swandream was produced by friend and fellow musician Sarah Blasko in 2020. His second album was almost complete when he died suddenly at the age of 34.

Vale Euphemia Augustina Leoda Bostock (1936 – 2024)

We mourn the passing of artist, NAS alumna and Boomalli founding member, Euphemia Bostock (known as Phemie).   Euphemia Augustina Leoda Bostock was born in Tweed Heads in 1936, a Munanjali Bundjalung woman. Phemie was a woman of great versatility and an energy for learning.  Phemie moved to Sydney in the 1960s with her family.  She was a founding member of the Black Theatre in Redfern, established in 1972. She was a regular teacher, committee member and co-ordinator of the Black Theatre along with her brothers, Lester and Gerry Bostock.   Phemie was involved in the foundation of the Aboriginal Arts Board with Wandjuk Marika in 1972. Phemie was present for the early days of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, and was involved in many political movements and demonstrations for Aboriginal rights in the 1960s and the 1970s.   Her artistic training took place at the East Sydney Technical College, (now the National Art School) and Redfern’s Eora Centre. Phemie worked across many mediums including textiles, printmaking, design, and sculpture.   Phemie was a visual arts tutor at Tranby Aboriginal College and Eora Centre, Redfern.

She was also a Director of the National Indigenous Arts Advocacy Association, and a Founding Member of Boomalli.

Phemie’s textile ​“Possum Skin” was collected by the National Gallery in 1988 and was exhibited in the New Indigenous Gallery, which opened in 2011. She has also had her work acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria and the Powerhouse Museum, and the National Art School.

In 2022 Phemie was awarded a Fellow of the National Art School. As an alumna, this of was full circle for her, and she was thrilled to receive this honour. The same year she exhibited a work in the NAS Gallery anniversary exhibition ​’Captivate’.

In 2022 Dr. Bronwyn Bancroft curated Phemie’s retrospective exhibition at Boomalli. It was a fitting tribute to an esteemed Elder and her remarkable achievements.

Vale Guy Warren (1921−2024)

The National Art School is very sad to hear of the death of our oldest alumnus, Guy Warren. Guy was a student, teacher, supporter, NAS Fellow and regular exhibitor at the National Art School for many of his 103 years.

He began his art career at the age of 14, when he left school and started his first job at The Bulletin newspaper in Sydney. For five years in the army during World War II, drawing and painting became a way to pass the inevitable downtime, and to record the drama of his surroundings in new Guinea.

On his discharge from the army, he was assisted by the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme to study at the National Art School (then part of East Sydney Technical College) from 1946 to 1949. His fellow students included many who have become legends in the Australian art world – Tony Tuckson, Bob Klippel, Oliffe Richmond, Jon Molvig, John Coburn, Bert Flugelman and many others.

Returning to Sydney in 1958 after eight years in London with his wife Joy and their two children, he found work in advertising, and began exhibiting his paintings and drawings. In the mid-1960s he began lecturing at the University of Sydney, the University of NSW, and for a short time at the National Art School.

His achievements include a close involvement with the establishment of a new art school, Sydney College of the Arts in 1975, and winning many prizes, including the Archibald Prize in 1985 with a portrait of his friend, fellow NAS student Bert Flugelman. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1999 and the Australia Medal (AM) in 2013. He received a Fellowship from NAS in 2011, and his work has influenced and inspired generations of artists through more than 65 solo exhibitions and a long career in art education.

In April 2021, the NAS Drawing Gallery opened with a survey exhibition of Guy’s drawings, a special event to mark Guy’s 100^th birthday. He later said it was one of the best nights of his life, with over 900 of his fellow artists, friends and family there to celebrate this major achievement.

Vale Alex Trompf  (1943−2024)

Alex was born on 12 January 1943 in Alexandria Egypt. His Greek mother, Mary Christophourou, had met an Australian soldier, Norman Trompf, who was fighting with the Australian Defense Force. They married and Mary finally left as a war bride, bound for Sydney, with the four-year old Alex. Being a bright lad, he did well and after obtaining the Leaving Certificate (HSC) was off to pursue his main interest, painting. To support himself he worked as a copy boy for the Daily Telegraph, taking lessons at the Julian Ashton Art School and then at East Sydney Technical College, later called the National Art School.

Alex graduated in 1967 and in the next decade, with his wife Peggy’s support, he became a leading artist in Sydney: he won the Sydney Morning Herald Young Contemporaries Art Prize in 1972 and the Blake Prize in 1979.

Alex returned to student life at Macquarie University, where he obtained a degree in sociology and anthropology. He had developed a special interest in the art of indigenous peoples, partially aroused in 1975 by an Arts Council grant to study in Peru. Soon after, he initiated courses at the National Art School on Aboriginal art, and indigenous art world-wide.

Alex taught at the National Art School for forty-seven years, first lecturing in 1970 and securing one of the inaugural appointments in Art History and Theory following the post-TAFE reconstitution of NAS in 1996. He received the NAS distinguished service award in 2016.

Alex was a selfless and optimistic person. He loved the National Art School and gave everything he could to three generations of students. He is survived by his daughter Larissa and former wife, Peggy.

Vale Jill McKay (1936–2023)

Jill’s career as a stage and film actor began at the age of 16 . In addition to roles on stage, Jill worked in television and film including Backtrack (2015), Contact (2002) and Cody: Fall from Grace (1995).

Artist Wendy Sharpe recalls that Jill ​‘was a talented and outrageous actor’ and comments that she ​‘was lucky enough to see her perform several times’. Wendy painted Jill many times, including a portrait that won the Naked and Nude Art Prize.

Alongside her extensive career as a stage and screen actor, Jill truly brought her charisma and commitment to being a life model for 30 years. She said in an interview, ​“when there are no acting gigs, I take my clothes off for money”.

Jill McKay threw herself into the art of modelling. She delighted students with her stories and regaled them with her rich perspectives on living. Wendy Sharpe recalls that when she taught at NAS, she ​‘often employed Jill. It was a wonderful chance for students to draw someone flamboyant and theatrical… who even in her 80s may have been the most radical person in the room’.

Jill will also be remembered as a committed environmentalist, feminist and human rights activist.

Vale Liz Cotter (1965–2023)

The National Art School is very sad to hear of the death of alumna Liz Cotter, aged 57, after her long battle with cancer. Liz graduated with a Master of Fine Art in Photomedia from NAS in 2022, and was a talented, engaged, and popular member of the student cohort. Despite debilitating treatment throughout her two years at NAS, Liz’s fierce determination, courage and passion to complete her MFA, became an inspiration to all those around her. She has left a rare gift with her beautiful film Flow: Daily Life on the Event Horizon, seeing life not only through her eyes but through the eyes of someone who has been given a terminal diagnosis. The film explores the frailty of human existence through the prism of Liz’s own lived experience of an advanced cancer diagnosis, one that afforded her a particular clarity or viewpoint from which to consider the world.

Our thoughts are with Liz’s family and friends at this time.

Vale John Olsen (1928–2023)

The National Art School is deeply saddened by the loss of John Olsen AO OBE, esteemed alumnus and NAS Fellow who first studied then taught at the School, and one of Australia’s most respected artists. The NAS It was closely connected to John and his family, and presented the last major exhibition of John’s work„ John Olsen: Goya’s Dog, which opened in the NAS Gallery in June 2021.

Featuring more than 50 major works, sketchbooks and drawings, many not seen in public for generations, Goya’s Dog was a celebration and re-evaluation of John’s position as a seminal Australian artist.

The exhibition was curated by Steven Alderton, then Director and CEO of the National Art School.

Alderton said: ​“Australia has lost one of our truly remarkable and emblematic artists. John redefined the way we see ourselves, our landscapes, our country and our shared identity. He was also a big part of the National Art School over many decades. He was a poet of the Australian landscape, an author of Sydney Harbour, a storyteller of our country and a lyricist of humanity. Forever and eternally an artist who shaped our stories. We send our sincere condolences to Tim, Louise and the family.”.

Vale Langdon Badger OAM (1931–2023)

The National Art School is sad hear of the death of NAS alumnus Langdon Badger, who died in Adelaide last week at the age of 92 years. Langdon graduated with Honours in the Diploma in Arts and Crafts course in December 1952. Phyllis Shillito was Head of Department and Langdon was a classmate of Tony Parker (Later Parker Furniture).

On graduation, he returned to his birthplace in Adelaide to establish a design firm retailing and providing colour consultancies and design services as ​“Langdon Badger Furnishings”. In 1954 he designed the Pope Rotary Lawn Mower (later Simpsons).

In the middle to late 1950s, Badger was introducing contemporary timber furniture from the eastern states, including Danish-sourced furniture. As an industrial, furniture and interior designer for more than five decades he provided advice and sold contemporary furniture and textiles from his Adelaide retail store. He retired in 1998.

He was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia’s Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 2015 he returned to NAS for the first time since leaving 63 years before, and was pleased to see the art school was thriving and had finally gained the whole site.

Our thoughts are with his extensive family in Adelaide and Sydney.

Vale Elinor Wrobel OAM (1933–2023)

The National Art School was saddened to hear of the recent death of long time NAS supporter Elinor Wrobel. For many decades Elinor and her husband Fred Wrobel supported Australian artists by acquiring key artworks for their ever expanding private art collection. Many of these artists were alumni or teachers at the National Art School.

In the 1980s, Fred and Elinor donated artworks to what was then the art department of East Sydney Technical College. These works are now an integral part of the National Art School Collection. Their daughter Edwina also studied at NAS in the 1980s, and continues to exhibit her work today.

Fred and Elinor Wrobel established two important galleries in Sydney: the Woolloomooloo Gallery (1983−95), the John Passmore Museum (2003−2023) and Elinor also founded the Lucy Osborne-Nightingale Museum at Sydney Hospital in 2000.

As well as donating works in the 1980s, Elinor supported the School with generous loans for three major exhibitions held at NAS: Ann Thomson and Contemporaries in 2016, Rayner Hoff: Life and Art 2017, and most recently Captivate: The National Art School and Darlinghurst Gaol in 2022. We were very pleased to welcome her to see the exhibition Captivate last year, one of her last gallery visits.

Elinor had a long and diverse career as a curator, collector, public speaker and gallerist, and will be greatly missed by the many artists she supported. Our thoughts are with her daughters and extended family.

Vale Royston Harpur (1938–2023)

The National Art School is saddened to learn of the death of long-standing NAS teacher Royston Harpur.

As a young man Harpur began writing poetry, and studied art with Polish-born painter Maximilian Fuerring before moving to the UK and Malta in 1964. Harpur became Gallery Manager of the Institute of Contemporary Art, London, and while in London performed in experimental dance pieces with members of the Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham companies, as well as in taking part in Happenings.

On returning to Australia in 1966 he became involved as director and exhibiting artist with the influential Central Street Gallery in Sydney. Two large shows at Gallery A in Sydney and Melbourne established his reputation as an artist, and he was appointed Curator of European and American Art at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1968, the year of the landmark exhibition of colour-field painting and abstract sculpture The Field.

Royston Harpur’s interests in comparative religion, archaeology and philology led him to travel and study in many parts of the world. He moved to Kyoto in the early 1970s, a formative experience that had a permanent influence on his art making. Interest in East Asian philosophical perspectives and aesthetics impacted a wide group of artists at this time.

Harpur held exhibitions of his work in private and public galleries, eg: Maitland City Art Gallery, 1976, the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1980 and the Liverpool Polytechnic,

UK, 1982, and his work was included in The Calligraphic Image with Peter Upward and Brett Whiteley at the Art Gallery of NSW in 1976.

In 1973 Head of School John Coburn invited Royston Harpur to teach at the NAS along with Sydney Ball and Peter Upward; unusually none were alumni. Royston Harpur taught Art Theory at NAS for 20 years, retiring in 1992.

This accomplished artist will be greatly missed.

Vale Les Blakebrough (1930–2022)

The National Art School is deeply saddened by the death of esteemed NAS alumnus and Fellow Les Blakebrough, AM. He was a distinguished and ground-breaking ceramic artist with works held in major public collections around Australia and overseas. In 2005 he was the first artist to be honoured with a solo exhibition in the Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft series, curated by Sydney’s Object: Centre for Australian Craft and Design. Les recently gave one of his beautiful ice porcelain works to the NAS Collection, which was displayed in 2022 in the exhibition Captivate: The National Art School and Darlinghurst Gaol.

Born in 1930 in Britain, he migrated to Australia in 1948 at the age of 18 and, after studying ceramics at NAS from 1955 to 1957, went to an apprenticeship at Sturt Pottery at Mittagong. In 1963 he studied with Takeichi and Kanjiro Kawai in Japan before returning to Australia to become Sturt Workshops Director. From 1972 to 2010 he was Principal Research Fellow of the Ceramic Research Unit at the University of Tasmania.

In 2011 he relocated his personal ceramics studio to Coledale, NSW. Of his practice he says, ​“All my work since 2000 uses Southern Ice Porcelain, a material I developed and particularly value for its cool whiteness and capacity for translucency. One of the processes I have adopted to work with porcelain is that of carving back into the unglazed outer wall of the work.”

Les held many solo exhibitions around Australia and is the recipient of numerous awards including a gold medal from the International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, Italy; Senior Tasmanian of the Year in 2008; and an AM in the Queen’s Birthday 2013 Honours List.

Les was an exceptional artist, teacher, researcher and mentor who made an enormous contribution to visual art, craft and design in Australia and will be greatly missed.

Vale Sue Blakebrough (née Miles) (1935–2022)

It’s with great sadness we see the passing of NAS Alumni Sue Blakebrough in early November 2022.

Sue attended The National Art School in 1956. She taught in the Southern Highlands and married Les Blakebrough. They traveled to Japan together to study ceramics. On their return, Sue worked alongside her husband at Sturt Workshop. She went on to become a successful Visual Art teacher in the Southern Highlands.

Vale Rodney J Smith (1948−2022)

It’s with great sadness we see the passing of artist and NAS Technician Rod Smith.

Rod was a graduate of the National Art School and Sydney Teachers College.

He maintained a continuous dedication to making artwork throughout his time as a Technician at the National Art School, where he began working in 1984 until his retirement in 2010.

Rod was respected and loved by all for his infectious personality, as well as his commitment and passionate assistance of the students and staff. His stewardship and guidance of so many of our students saw them establish secure employment in the arts community, in particular here at the National Art School.

His knowledge of our history and the campus itself is legendary, where until recent times he continuously revealed many of its mysterious hidden spaces that enabled storage for his bowerbird traits, nothing was useless, everything had the potential to become a work of art.

Rod was a great mate and shared his time to create and participate in exhibitions, arranged exclusively for him and his colleagues from the National Art School. He continued to keep in touch by visiting the art school frequently.

Rod will be remembered with great fondness by his friends, past students, staff and his colleagues.

Vale Bela Ivanyi OAM (1936–2022)

We are saddened by the passing of NAS alumnus Bela Ivanyi OAM, we extend our condolences to Bela’s family and friends.

Born in Gyor, Hungary, in 1936, Bela emigrated to Australia in 1957 and settled in Sydney. He was awarded a Diploma in Painting in 1968 from the National Art School, East Sydney, and subsequently taught painting and printmaking at the Workshop Art

Centre from from 1969 to 1972, at which time he relocated to Cairns. In 1974, Bela joined the Flying Art School and, after acquiring a pilot’s licence, flew to all the major outback centres and remote areas of Australia as a senior lecturer, working with Aboriginal artists in Cape York until 1980. Between 1980 and 1993, he worked part-time at Newcastle College of Advanced Education and in Technical and Further Education Colleges teaching painting, drawing and design. He was also a part-time lecturer in painting, drawing and design at the University of New South Wales, from 1979 – 92, later lecturing in Art Education at Newcastle University in 2000.

. Since 1969, he had 35 solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and the Central Coast, and exhibited in numerous group exhibitions in Sydney. These included the Wynne Prize (1978, 1981 – 83); the 2000 Fleurieu Art Prize and the 2003 Kedumba Drawing Award.

A member of the Australian Watercolour Institute since 2003, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2017 for service to the visual arts, particularly as an educator and mentor.

Merran Esson (1950–2022)

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Merran Esson, former NAS staff member and artist. She was an incredibly loved member of the NAS community, a generous and inspirational educator to countless students, a respected and treasured colleague, and a talented and renowned artist. Merran is remembered for her passion, creativity, artistry and lively sense of humour. We will sorely miss her at the National Art School but will ensure her legacy lives on. Our deepest sympathies are with Kirsty, James, Karen and family.

Merran was part of the NAS community for a long time starting as a part time lecturer in the Ceramics department from 1983 – 1996. In 1997, she began working at NAS as a lecturer in Ceramics, and became Head of the Ceramics Department in 2009.

Merran was an accomplished ceramicist and worked at the forefront of Australian ceramics for many years. In 2006, she was the recipient of one of the coveted NAS residencies at La Cite International des Arts in Paris, where she took the opportunity to look at rare ceramics collections, research and experiment. In 2019 she was the winner of both the Ceramic component of the Muswellbrook Art Prize and the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize with her Monaro Tree series.

As Head of Ceramics, Merran was an enthusiastic and tireless advocate for the art form, which resulted in consistent and growing numbers of students taking up a Ceramics major. To her ceramics staff and students, she held an attitude of professional respect, generosity and warmth, and was always approachable and caring. The students were

fortunate recipients of her scientific knowledge of glazes and firing techniques, and her love of handbuilding.

To the wider world, Merran actively promoted the National Art School, and all of the values it stands for. She will be greatly missed.

Graham Oldroyd (1953–2022)

We are very sad to hear of the recent passing of artist Graham Oldroyd. Born in Bulli, Wollongong in 1953, Graham studied at the National Art School, then East Sydney Technical College, in the 1970s, developing an interest in Islamic ceramic forms and glazes.

He began lecturing at NAS in 1977, was Head of Ceramics from 1980 – 1984, then became Head of the Ceramics Division for TAFE NSW. One of Graham’s most well-known works is the large ceramic mural he created with painter Michael Ramsden for the new Parliament House in Canberra in 1986 – 7.

His highly accomplished practice also included drawing and painting, and his works are held in many collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

As a teacher and artist he played a crucial role establishing ceramics as contemporary art practice, moving beyond the common perception of craft. NAS’s Head of Ceramics Lynda Draper studied under Graham while a student here in the 1980s, he was a mentor and inspiration. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Madeleine Preston (1968−2022)

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Madeleine Preston, NAS alumna, staff and artist. Madeleine was much-loved by the NAS community and lectured in the ceramics department for five years. She was fiercely intelligent, a talented artist and writer, and dedicated teacher and supporter of her peers. Her art practice spans a range of media including painting, sculpture and installation, using art historical references to investigate how attitudes of the past inform the present. With her partner Anthony, she founded Home at 725 Art Gallery in Redfern. Our deepest condolences to Anthony, her family and friends at this difficult time. This is a great loss to our community.

Nigel Butterley (1935 – 2022)

The Australian composer Nigel Butterley, along with Peter Sculthorpe and Richard Meale, created a new, contemporary outlook for Australian music with a substantial body of music, from tiny chamber pieces to vast orchestral works and epic song cycles.

Butterley had strong connections to the National Art School. As well as attending a number of seminal NAS performances, he performed in the Cell Block for a period spanning ten years – mostly as a pianist, but also as conductor, singer and composer. In 1967 he directed Interaction – Music and Painting in the Cell Block Theatre. In this work, which was filmed by the ABC, the 22-year-old John Peart (NAS teacher 1978 – 1999) spontaneously painted while Butterley improvised on the piano and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra played a series of pre-composed fragments. And in 1969 Butterley created the first Australian performance of John Cage’s Complete Sonatas and Interludes for Piano on the Cell Block Theatre’s grand piano.

In April 2011 Nigel Butterley returned to the Cell Block Theatre to perform another John Cage piece for prepared piano for the launch of the book Set in Stone.

Nigel Butterley and his partner of 44 years, Tom Kennedy, were also keen art lovers, accumulating a substantial collection, including work by NAS alumni such as John Coburn, James Gleeson, Robert Klippel, Oliffe Richmond and John Peart.

Vale Peter Powditch (1942 – 2022)

The National Art School is saddened to hear of the passing of Peter Powditch, NAS Fellow.

Peter was a wonderful, ground-breaking artist and member of the NAS community, who studied here in the 1960s, then later taught here, and was appointed as a NAS Fellow in 2017. In his citation for Peter at the Fellows Ceremony, fellow alumnus and NAS sculpture teacher Ron Robertson Swann recalled: ​“Peter and I did have some differences in our teaching methods. Along with imparting the great joy of art, Peter had the compulsion to warn students about the self-doubt, loneliness and despair… and I’d say ​‘Christ Peter, don’t mention that ​‘til third year!’” In 1981, Peter was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to Art. To read more about his life and practice see ArtsHub’s story.

The National Art School extends condolences to all of Peter’s family and friends.

Vale Kaye Shumack (1953 – 2021)

The National Art School is saddened to hear of the passing of Kaye Shumack, MFA student.

Kaye joined the NAS MFA 1 drawing cohort in 2020, a disrupted year for us all. For Kaye it was more difficult than we realised. Mid-year she let us know she had advanced cancer and was taking time off to manage treatment and pain. We all admired not just Kaye’s remarkable drawings but also her considered, insightful and affirming contributions to

conversations about our work and theoretical concerns. I was fascinated by Kaye’s mark-making – her use of buoyant line-work built up drawings of the inner West that are inhabited by the energy or spirit of the place. Kaye loved being at NAS, her relationships with fellow students and supervisors and her light-filled studio where she could focus on making work. We’re thankful for the opportunity to know Kaye and pleased that thanks to her generosity, she will be remembered through the Kaye Shumack Sunflower Drawing Prize, an annual award of $3000 for an MFA Drawing graduate whose work contributes to broadening awareness of social issues. We look forward to creating a special place for Kaye’s work in our MFA Postgraduate exhibition.

The National Art School extends condolences to all of Kaye’s family and friends.

Vale Meg Buchanan (1949 – 2021)

The National Art School is saddened to hear of the passing of Meg Buchanan, Head of Printmaking (1999 – 2001).

Meg Buchanan was born in 1949 and initially trained in painting at the Newcastle School of Art (1968- 1971) before studying etching in Paris and New York. She was awarded an MA (Visual Arts) from Monash University in Melbourne in 1998. From 1974 Buchanan lectured in tertiary institutions throughout Australia and overseas. Her most senior appointments included Head of Foundation Studies at the ANU School of Art (1992−1998) and Head of Printmaking at the National Art School in Sydney (1999 – 2001). As well as teaching she was the co-founder and Director of the Studio One print workshop in Canberra. Her work is represented in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Canberra Museum and Gallery and the New York University and has been included in major curated exhibitions including ​“Capital Works”, which toured Asia, the Biennale of Drawing in Canberra and ​“Five Years On” at the Canberra Museum and Gallery. In 2007 Meg Buchanan was the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Canberra Museum and Gallery.

The National Art School extends condolences to all of Meg’s family and friends.

Vale James Ballaam (1995 – 2021)

The National Art School is saddened to hear of the passing of Alumnus James Ballaam. James completed the Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) in 2016. He is remembered fondly as a distinction student.

The National Art School extends condolences to all of James’s family and friends.

Vale George Schwarz (1935 – 2021)

The National Art School is saddened to learn of the death of photographer, film maker, painter, printmaker and former NAS teacher George Schwarz on the 28^th May 2021.

Born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1935, George studied at the Ecole des Arts et Métiers, Basel from 1953 to 1957, before moving to Spain in 1958.

He met Australian born Charis on a beach in southern Spain when they were in their twenties. In 1969 they settled in Sydney, and George taught photography at the National Art School from 1970 to 1974. He had been teaching painting and drawing part time at NAS, and was asked to teach photography full-time, helping to implement and write the first photography course at NAS. George was renowned for bringing a huge variety of life models in for students to photograph, including the notorious Madame Lash (Gretel Pinniger), who posed clad in leather and sporting a variety of whips. George continued teaching at Alexander Mackie School of Art and City Art Institute until 1997.

The significance of photography as a device to record time is central to many of his works. Using a variety of unexpected assemblages of visual images, George created surreal layers of meaning, blurring the line between the real and symbolic, life and art. He held numerous exhibitions at Stills Gallery, and his work is widely collected and published. In 2017 he donated 8 works and his teaching archive to the NAS Collection.

Our thoughts are with Charis and all of George’s friends, associates and former students. He will be greatly missed.

Vale Tony White (1942 – 2020)

The National Art School was sad to hear of the death of world renowned jeweller Tony White. He was born in 1942 in Sydney, and attended Saturday art classes at the National Art School when still a child. He later trained in architecture, graduating from Sydney University in 1965, and practised as an architect for five years in both Sydney and Melbourne. During this time he became interested in jewellery.

In 1971 White began working full-time as a jeweller, and began exhibiting his work with Philip Bacon Galleries in Brisbane in 1974. He travelled extensively in Africa, Asia, Europe and America, collecting rare stones for his exquisite and individual works.

His work has been exhibited around the globe and has been highly regarded and worn by world leaders and celebrities. It is also held in major collections in Australia and overseas. White had only recently returned to painting.

It is hoped that his first classes at the National Art School provided a springboard for his illustrious career and we send our sympathies to his family and friends.

Vale Frank Watters OAM (1934 – 2020)

The National Art School was saddened to hear of the death of Frank Watters, who died peacefully at his home on 21 May 2020. Along with with Geoffrey and Alexandra Legge, he was a founder and director of Watters Gallery between 1964 and 2018.

Watters Gallery was one of the most important and innovative private galleries in Sydney for over 50 years. Since the 1960s, the gallery has exhibited the work of hundreds of artists, many of whom have strong links to the National Art School. These artists included James Gleeson, Robert Klippel, Euan Macleod, Roger Crawford, Vivienne Binns, Joe Frost, John Peart, Frank Littler, Tony Tuckson and Chris O’Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa). Franks discerning eye meant that some of these artists were first shown by Watters gallery when they had just finished studying at the art school.

Frank was also a closely involved in the avant-garde performances which were performed in the Cell Block Theatre. Frank performed himself alongside Daniel Thomas in a concert called Acoustic Space in the Cell Block Theatre in 1969.

In 1988 Frank Watters was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to art, and in 2013 we recognised his outstanding contribution to Australian art and culture, and his longstanding support and friendship with the National Art School by awarding him a Fellowship of the NAS.

The National Art School extends condolences to all of Frank’s family and friends.

Vale Matilda Cecilia Kubany-Deane (1995–2020)

The National Art School is deeply saddened by the news that Tily Kubany-Deane, a wonderfully talented, creative and joyful NAS alumna has passed away.

A private family service was held, her ashes scattered in her favourite places in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, including West Head Lookout.

Our condolences go out to her husband and fellow NAS alumni Sean Wadey, and their families.

Vale Andrew ​‘Greedy’ Smith (1956–2019)

The National Art School is deeply saddened by the news that Andrew ​‘Greedy’ Smith, one of the founding members of iconic Australian band Mental as Anything, has died.

Smith attended the National Art School in the 1970s, then East Sydney Tech, where he met band members and fellow art students Chris O’Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa), Martin Murphy (Martin Plaza), David Twohill (Wayne DeLisle) and Steve Coburn.

Smith was already in a covers band with a school mate from North Sydney Boys, but first played with the Mentals in December 1976, at the Anthony Doherty Community Centre Hall in Darlinghurst. The band’s first gig with their final line up – Martin, Greedy, David, Chris and his brother Peter O’Doherty, was at the National Art School’s Cell Block Theatre on August 17, 1977, the night Elvis died.

The name Mental as Anything had been chosen earlier by another National Art School student, Paul Worstead, who had booked them for a gig at the Settlement in Chippendale. Worstead went on to design the cover of Mental as Anything’s first album Get Wet, released in 1979.

The school is proud to have been the crucible for the band that has held such a special place in the Australian music scene for generations.

Greedy Smith will be greatly missed and mourned by many. The National Art School would like to extend its sympathy to his friends and family.

Vale Jo Meisner (1954–2019)

Jo Meisner was not only a dear friend to many. She was a driven, passionate and compassionate artist making exciting and engaging art.

Jo (Joanne) Meisner was born in Sydney. Jo attended the School of Fashion, East Sydney Technical College between 1971 – 4, at that time the first dedicated fashion design school in Sydney. Subsequently, she held a professional career in the fashion industry for thirty-seven years.

In 2012 Jo returned to that same campus in Darlinghurst, now the National Art School, where she applied her characteristic intensity, curiosity and passion to the visual arts. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours (Painting) in 2016. In a second career that was to be all too short, Jo had built a strong reputation for her vibrant figurative works and had held four solo and numerous group exhibitions, most significantly a solo exhibition in Paris in 2018 with work following from a residency in 2017.

Jo passed away peacefully, after a brief final illness in September 2019, leaving her loving husband Phillip, children Ben, Joshua and Sam, grandchildren and a large and loving crowd of family and friends. We will all miss her special warmth and empathy.

Vale Klaus Friedeberger (1922–2019)

The National Art School is very sad to hear of the loss of alumnus Klaus Friedeberger who died in London at the age of 97 on the 19^th September 2019.

Klaus Friedeberger was born into a secular Jewish family in Berlin in 1922. In April 1939, the young Friedeberger arrived in England as a refugee and not long afterwards was arrested as an enemy alien. He was then sent on the infamous ship HMT Dunera to an internment camp to Australia for two years in Hay, NSW. Among his fellow internees were a number of distinguished artists and art historians who together formed an informal academy. Friedeberger designed a number of posters, painted scenery for stage productions and painted a large number of watercolours while in the camp. After a stint in the Australian army corps, he took the opportunity to study painting for three years under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme (CRTS) at East Sydney Technical College, the National Art School. His fellow CRTS students included Fred Schonbach, Guy Warren, Tony Tuckson, Oliffe Richmond and John Coburn.

After he graduated from the NAS, Friedeberger won the 1949 Mosman Art Prize. The prize money enabled him to sail for Europe and after 10 years in Australia, he returned to London in 1950. Friedeberger set up a studio in Chelsea and began exhibiting, working as graphic designer and teaching in art schools.

A prolific and much respected artist in the UK, his work is held in the permanent collections of the Sydney Jewish Museum, the British Museum, London, and the National Gallery of Australia. His work was also included in the Lines of Fire: armed forces to art school at the NAS gallery in 2008. The NAS Collection holds many of his student works, and 4 drawings from the 1980s.

The National Art School extends condolences to Klaus Friedeberger’s wife Julie and his many friends.

Vale Tom Thompson (1923−2019) 

The National Art School is very sad to hear of the loss of alumnus and former staff member Thomas Alexander (Tom) Thompson, who died in Sydney at the age of 95 on the 13^th July 2019.

Born on the 16 November 1923 in Narrabri, NSW, Tom studied at the National Art School on a Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scholarship (CRTS) from 1947 to 1950 after serving in World War Two as a tank gunner in Bougainville. His fellow students included Tony Tuckson, Guy Warren, Bert Flugelman, John Coburn and Robert Klippel. A talented student, he graduated with a Painting Diploma and was awarded the College Medal.

After finishing his studies, he went to England where he worked as a night watchman for the National Gallery in London. After a period overseas, he taught at the South Australian School of Art from 1952 to 1955.

Tom returned to the National Art School as a teacher in 1955, teaching painting and drawing for over 20 years. A great chronicler of events, he helped preserve the NAS Collection, and did many drawings of the site, its history and its occupants. From 1975 to 1976 he was Head of the School of Art and Design at ESTC before resigning to paint full time in his studio in Braidwood, NSW.

Thompson’s work was exhibited in The Studio Tradition, Manly Art Gallery, 2001, and Lines of Fire in the NAS Gallery in 2008, and many of his student works are represented in the NAS Collection. His work is held in the National Gallery of Australia, State galleries in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand.

The National Art School extends condolences to Tom’s family and friends. He will be greatly missed by his former colleagues and many students.

Vale James Roberts 

From his parents, Lorraine and Robert Roberts 28 February 2019

Our beautiful son, James Edwin Roberts, ex- Nambour and Burnside High School student in the nineteen eighties, son of Lorraine and Bob Roberts, was killed in an incomprehensible, tragic accident when he fell from his bicycle, on the 11^th of February because of a mechanical failure. Though wearing a safety helmet, he still sustained a massive brain injury. The police believe that sadly too many people become complacent, thinking that a helmet will protect them for receiving serious head injuries. A warning. James has worked at the Sydney Opera House as a stage mechanist for the last 16 years, and was studying at the National Art School. He was due to start a Master of Fine Arts degree that he had intended to follow up with a PhD soon after that.

James was a much loved son and will be greatly missed by his parents, his sister Muria Roberts and niece Amyra Roberts Prayoga, and also his wide circle of family and friends. Cyclists, young and old, do be careful while riding. Safety helmets cannot always provide full head protection.

Vale James Barker 1931–2019

James Barker graduated from East Sydney Technical College in 1955. Fellow students in James’s year were a close knit group of artists which included Ron Lambert; Robin Lawrence; Georgina Worth and Barbara Holliday.

Other students at East Sydney in the same period included Karen Oom, Cam Sparks, and Elisabeth Cummings. After he received a Fulbright Scholarship in 1956, he travelled widely and Elisabeth Cummings joined him in Florence some years later, where they were married and spent the ensuing years painting, teaching and travelling throughout Europe.

During the period in Florence James and Elizabeth had a constant stream of visiting travellers from Australia, many of them fellow art students from East Sydney. In late 1968 Elisabeth and James returned to Australia with their young son Damian, born in Florence just prior to the historic and catastrophic floods of 1966.

On his return to Australia in 1968 he began teaching painting and art history at the National Art School and at the University of Sydney with Lloyd Rees. He continued his painting practice, held many solo exhibitions and was the recipient of art awards throughout his life. He maintained his close ties with NAS for over 60 years.

The National Art School extends condolences to James’s family and friends, particularly his son Damian, Elisabeth Cummings and his second wife Joesephine Maxwell.