As the longest continuing art school in Australia, the National Art School has a substantial and impressive cohort of alumni who have contributed to the history of Australian art and continue to influence contemporary art practice. Our alumni are represented in the most prestigious collections around the world, from the Tate in the UK and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, MoMA and the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York, to all Australian state and the national galleries.
Graduates of National Art School who continue to enjoy outstanding success include Fiona Hall AO who represented Australia at the 2015 Venice Biennale of Art, 2012 Archibald Prize winner Tim Storrier and contemporary ceramicist Juz Kitson, who was selected to exhibit in Primavera: Young Australia Artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in 2013.
Below is a sample of some of our most esteemed alumni from the 1920s till the present day.
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Check out a selection of alumni, staff and student exhibitions on this month around Australia and the world here.
Key Alumni
1920s – Jean Broome, Lyndon Dadswell, Elaine Haxton AM, Frank Hinder, Arthur Murch, Joshua Smith, Barbara Tribe
1930s – Jean Appleton, Max Dupain OBE, AC, James Gleeson, Lorna Nimmo, Rosaleen Norton, Dorothy Thornhill
1940s – Tom Bass, Charles Blackman, John Coburn AO, Kevin Connor, Mollie Douglas, Bert Flugelman AM, Norman Hetherington OAM, Robert Klippel AO, Margaret Olley AC, Elizabeth Rooney, Peter Rushforth AM, Tony Tuckson, Guy Warren AM
1950s – Yvonne Audette, Les Blakebrough AM, Vivienne Binns, Ted Binder, Elisabeth Cummings OAM, Ken Done, Margaret Fink, Michael Johnson, Colin Lanceley, Keith Looby, John Olsen AO OBE, Roslyn Oxley OAM, Robert Owen, Mike Parr, Ann Thomson, Brett Whiteley, Wendy Whiteley OAM, William Wright AM
1960s – Bill Brown, Vivienne Binns OAM, Geoffrey Bardon AM, Richard Goodwin, Ian Howard, Colin Lanceley AO, Janet Mansfield OAM, Alan Oldfield, Peter Powditch AM, Bill Samuels, Ron Robertson-Swann OAM, Martin Sharp, Garry Shead, Tim Storrier AM, Ken Unsworth AM
1970s – Dr Philip Batty, Cressida Campbell, Merilyn Fairskye, Fiona Hall AO, Paul Hopmeier, Jan King, Marie McMahon, Reg Mombassa/Chris O’Doherty, Susan Norrie OAM, Julie Rrap, Michael Snape, Thancoupie AO, Anne Zalhalka
1980s – Fiona Foley, Adrienne Gaha, Peter Godwin, Ildiko Kovacs, Tim Maguire, Idris Murphy, Joan Ross, Louise Tuckwell
1990s – Lucy Culliton, Karla Dickens, Alan Jones, Fiona Lowry, Adam Rish, Luke Sciberras, Craig Waddell
2000s – Mitch Cairns, Jumaadi, Juz Kitson, Alesandro Ljubicic, Guy Maestri, Leslie Rice, Coen Young
2010–2015 – Sophie Cape, James Drinkwater, Todd Fuller, Mason Kimber, Michael McIntyre, Lucy O’Doherty, Catherine O’Donnell, Georgia Saxelby, Elyssa Sykes-Smith
2015–2020 – Eliza Gosse, Kirtika Kain, Dani Mackenzie, Ebony Russell, Justine Varga, Natasha Walsh
VALE
The National Art School has been the training ground for some of Australia’s most significant and respected artists. On this page we recognise and pay homage to our alumni who have passed away recently.