Kenneth Charles McFadyen (17 January 1932 – 17 March 1998) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

war artist born in Preston,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1932. He was appointed as an official war artist for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He was in Vietnam for 7 months, arriving in mid-August 1967. He was stationed with the

1st Australian Task Force The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, north of Bà Rịa i ...

base at

Nui Dat Nui Dat (Núi Đất) is a former 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) base now part of Ba Ria city in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province, Vietnam. It is not the name of an official ward, it just means "dirt hill" ( núi đất). History 1966–1972 In ...

, however he also worked with the 1st Australian Logistical Support Group base at Vung Tau, and the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

destroyer HMAS ''Hobart'' for a short period. After the Vietnam war, he returned to Australia and continued to paint for the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

. He died in March 1998 as the result of a heart attack. In 2010, a biography of selected artworks was written by Sandra Finger Lee, titled ''Vietnam on Canvas''.

External links and sources

AWM site

Vietnam on Canvas
1932 births 1998 deaths Vietnam War artists Australian war artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century male artists Australian male painters People from Preston, Victoria Artists from Melbourne {{Australia-artist-stub