John de Burgh Perceval AO (1 February 1923 – 15 October 2000) was a well-known

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the

Angry Penguins ''Angry Penguins'' was an art and literary journal founded in 1940 by surrealist poet Max Harris, at the age of 18. Originally based in Adelaide, the journal moved to Melbourne in 1942 once Harris joined the Heide Circle, a group of avant-garde ...

who redefined Australian art in the 1940s. Other members included John Reed,

Joy Hester Joy St Clair Hester (21 August 1920 – 4 December 1960) was an Australian artist. She was a member of the Angry Penguins movement and the Heide Circle who played an integral role in the development of Australian Modernism. Hester is best known ...

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

and Albert Tucker. He was also an Antipodean and contributed to the Antipodeans exhibition of 1959.

Biography

Perceval was born Linwood Robert Steven South on 1 February 1923 at

Bruce Rock Bruce Rock is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately east of Perth and southwest of Merredin. It is the main town in the Shire of Bruce Rock. History Originally known as Nunagin or Noonegin, the name of ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, the second child of Robert South (a wheat farmer) and Dorothy (''née'' Dolton). His parents separated in 1925 and he remained at his father's farm until reunited with his mother and travelling to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1935. Following the marriage of his mother to William de Burgh Perceval, he changed his name to John and adopted the surname de Burgh Perceval. In 1938 Perceval contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

and was hospitalised, giving him the opportunity to further his skills at drawing and painting. Enlisting in the army in 1941 Perceval first met and befriended

. After leaving the army and moving into the Boyd family home, "Open Country",

Murrumbeena Murrumbeena is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Murrumbeena recorded a population of 9,996 at the 2021 cen ...

, he married Boyd's younger sister Mary Boyd in 1944. Together he and Mary Boyd produced four children. Perceval held his first solo exhibition at the Melbourne Book Club in 1948 and showed regularly with the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museums ...

. Between 1949 and 1955 he concentrated on producing earthenware ceramics and helped to establish the Arthur Merric Boyd Pottery in

. Returning to painting in 1956 Perceval produced a series of images of Williamstown and Gaffney's Creek. Moving to England in 1963 Perceval held solo exhibitions in London, and travelled to Europe, before returning to Australia in 1965 to take up the first

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

Creative Fellowship. ''John Perceval'', a major retrospective exhibition, was held at

Albert Hall, Canberra The Albert Hall is a hall in Canberra, Australia, used for entertainment. It is on Commonwealth Avenue, Canberra, Commonwealth Avenue between Commonwealth Bridge and the Hotel Canberra in the suburb of Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory ...

in 1966. Author Margaret Plant's monograph ''John Perceval'', was published in 1971. Suffering from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, and later in life from

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

, in 1974 Perceval was committed to the psychiatric hospital Larundel, Melbourne, where he remained until 1981. ''John Perceval: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings'' was held at

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...

Park and Art Gallery in 1984. He was awarded Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in 1991, the year before the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

held ''John Perceval: A Retrospective,'' where writer and art historian, Traudi Allen's ''John Perceval'' was launched. A second, entirely revised and updated edition of this publication was released in 2015. In 2000 from 19 August to 19 October ''John Perceval Retrospective Exhibition'' was held in Galeria Aniela Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park. It was officially opened by the Chairman of Sotheby’s (it included 80 oil paintings and works on paper from 1946 to 1999). It was Perceval's last retrospective and was mentioned on ABC TV's National News. Prior to his death ''Scudding Swans'' (1959) sold for $552,500, a record for a living Australian painter. In March 2010, it was sold for $690,000. Perceval died on 15 October 2000. He was survived by his four children; Matthew, Tessa, Celia and Alice, all of whom are practising artists today.

Honours and awards

*1958: McCaughey Prize *1959: Maude Vizard Wholohan Prize, Art Gallery of South Australia *1960:

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

for ''Dairy Farm, Victoria'' *1991:

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for service to the visual arts

References

External links

John Perceval's works
at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

Biography: John Perceval, National Gallery of Victoria

Kate Williamson: John Perceval, Art Interview

(Brighton Cemetery) {{DEFAULTSORT:Perceval, John 1923 births 2000 deaths Australian ceramicists Officers of the Order of Australia People from Bruce Rock, Western Australia People with polio Wynne Prize winners 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Heide Circle 20th-century ceramists Australian male painters Australian Army personnel of World War II People from Murrumbeena, Victoria Artists from Melbourne

Biography

Honours and awards

References

Further reading

External links