Peter Benjamin Graham (4 June 1925 – 15 April 1987), was an Australian visual artist, printer, and art theorist. In 1954, Graham began to explore native Australian wildlife (notably

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

s) and themes associated with Aboriginal culture, using the visual languages of European figurative

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

and, later, geometric

abstraction Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or " concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abst ...

. He began developing a new form of visual geometry related to

Chaos Theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to hav ...

from 1960, eventually called Thematic Orchestration. The new visual language enabled the 2D

deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essen ...

and synthesis of an observed subject, in a way fundamentally different from traditional abstraction. Thematic Orchestration allows the artist to 'grow' an image, producing almost infinite conscious invention. In 1964, Graham began developing what he called a high level visual notation system for pure visual imagery, which he first named "Notation Painting" and later "New Epoch Art". Graham became a pioneer of the Australian artist run initiative movement, running The Queensberry Street Gallery in association with Victorian Printmakers' Group from 1973 until 1978. In 2006, Graham's 1945 painting ''

Peter Lalor Peter Fintan Lalor (; 5 February 1827 – 9 February 1889) was an Irish-Australian rebel and, later, politician who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia. ...

Addressing the Miners Before Eureka'' featured in a major Australian travelling exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of the

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, whic ...

. This painting is also featured in Riot or Revolution, a dramatised history documentary on the Eureka Stockade directed by Don Parham and produced by Parham Media Productions in association with the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

in 2005.

Early years

Peter Graham was born 4 June 1925 and raised in the

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 metro ...

suburb of Hartwell. He was awarded scholarship to Melbourne Technical College Art School for one year in 1939. He studied Hand

Lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

with Ross McClintock Studios ( Colour separation from artists' originals, drawn as lithographic plates – 24 sheet positives, etc.) between 1940 and 1941. Graham transferred his indenture to PhotoGravures Pty Ltd. in 1941. There, he was trained by master craftsmen in facsimile reproduction and pre-press

Rotogravure Rotogravure (or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process, which involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because, like offset printing and flexography, it ...

techniques during war years. He received his Certificate of Completion of apprenticeship in 1946. Between 1941 and 1946, Graham studied fine art with

Victor Greenhalgh Victor Greenhalgh (1900–1983) was an Australian sculptor and teacher. He was commissioned to sculpt the George V of the United Kingdom, King George V statue in Ballarat, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, as well as eight of the portrait busts ...

and John Rowell in night classes at Melbourne Technical College – figure and portraiture. In 1945, Graham joined the

Victorian Artists Society The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and gallery hire exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Academy of Arts (previously V ...

, and exhibited his first painting in the

Australia at War Exhibition Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

at 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 ...

. At the same time, he began his association with the Melbourne Social Realism group that included:

Noel Counihan Noel Counihan (4 October 19135 July 1986) was an Australian social realist painter, printmaker, cartoonist and illustrator active in the 1940s and 1950s in Melbourne. An atheist, communist, and art activist, Counihan made art in response to th ...

, Josl Berger,

Victor O'Connor Victor George O'Connor (21 December 1918 – 8 September 2010) was an Australian artist and an exponent of the principles of social realist art. From the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s his work embodied social and political comment on ...

Ma Mahood Marguerite Henriette Mahood was a celebrated Australian graphic artist, ceramicist, sculptor, author and historian''.'' Mahood was a prolific writer, and produced a number of articles and texts for The Australian Home Beautiful journal. Mahood ...

, Herbert McClintock, Rembrandt McClintock, Frank Andrew, and Nutta Buzzacott. He exhibited regularly at the Victorian Artists Society until 1947. In 1946, he was awarded the Ferntree Gully Art Prize for best watercolour, 'Back Streets of Hawthorn', a year later he was awarded The Herald prize for best drawing, 'The Smokers'. He left for England with Grahame King in August 1947.

England

Between 1947 and 1949, Graham lived and painted at

The Abbey Arts Centre The Abbey Arts Centre at 89 Park Road, New Barnet, England, was established in 1946 by William Ohly, an art dealer who ran the Berkeley Galleries in Davies Street, London. Early history The area was undeveloped fields until the later part ...

in New Barnet London, along with artists,

Leonard French Leonard William French OBE (8 October 1928 – 10 January 2017) was an Australian artist, known principally for major stained glass works. French was born in Brunswick, Victoria to a family of Cornish origin. His stained glass creations inc ...

James Gleeson James Timothy Gleeson (21 November 1915 – 20 October 2008) was an Australian artist. He served on the board of the National Gallery of Australia. Early life Gleeson was born in the Sydney district of Hornsby in 1915 and attended East Sy ...

, Douglas Green,

Stacha Halpern Stanislav "Stacha" Halpern (20 October 1919 – 28 January 1969) was a Polish Australian painter and sculptor. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, Halpern emigrated to Australia. A decade later he became a naturalised Australian citiz ...

, Grahame King, Inge King and

Robert Klippel Robert Klippel AO (19 June 192019 June 2001) was an Australian constructivist sculptor and teacher. He is often described in contemporary art literature as Australia's greatest sculptor. Throughout his career he produced some 1,300 pieces of ...

. During this time he also befriended the Irish 'folk' artist Gerald Dillon who lived nearby, and who introduced Graham to the visual languages of

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...

. He exhibited in group shows at William Ohly's Berkeley Galleries, and the Contemporary Artists' Society in London. In 1948, Graham studied drawing under Bernard Meninsky at

Central School of Art The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

, London. But with his money running short, he decided to go back to work at

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and the ...

, specialising in the inverted half-tone

Dultgen The Dultgen halftone intaglio process is a photoengraving technique invented by Arthur Dultgen and is widely used today in commercial colour work. Two positives are made from the continuous tone copy, one through a halftone screen or a special con ...

process and masked colour separation until 1950. In 1950, Graham travelled through France and Italy before returning to Sydney under three-year contract to

Australian Consolidated Press Are Media is an Australian media company that was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press during the 201 ...

working as a specialist in colour separation.

Sydney

Between 1951 and 1953, Graham exhibited paintings in various group shows in Sydney, including the Inaugural

Blake Prize for Religious Art The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2015, and since 2016 has been a ...

Alice Springs

In 1954, Graham rode a BSA 500 motorcycle non-stop from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

to Melbourne. After rebuilding the bike, he headed across to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

then rode solo up along the route of what is now the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and southern extremities are segments of Aus ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...

over five days. There he worked as a builder's labourer for 18 months while painting on the side, until the end of 1955. During this time he worked and painted alongside Aboriginal artists, Adolf Inkamala and the Pareroultja Brothers. He helped build the John Flynn Memorial Church and government housing at

Hermannsburg Mission The Hermannsburg Mission (german: Hermannsburger Mission) was founded as the Hermannsburg Mission Centre (''Missionsanstalt Hermannsburg'') in 1849 in Hermannsburg, near Celle, North Germany, by Louis Harms. In 1977, the independent mission soc ...

. At Hermannsburg, Graham met anthropologist

Ted Strehlow Theodor George Henry Strehlow (6 June 1908 – 3 October 1978) was an Australian anthropologist and linguist. He notably studied the Arrernte (Aranda, Arunta) Aboriginal Australians and their language in Central Australia. Life Early life St ...

, who transformed his way of seeing the Australian landscape and Aboriginal culture.

Fiji

Graham spent six months in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

painting and drawing in 1956. image:1956-068.jpg, ''Fijian String Band'' by Peter Graham 1956 W/C and ink on paper 43 x 39 cm image:1956-129.jpg, ''Dream Of The Big Fish'' by Peter Graham 1956 W/C, ink and pencil on paper 42 x 39 cm

Gallery A (Melbourne)

1956–1960: Graham returned to Melbourne, rejoined PhotoGravures Pty Ltd. Shared a studio with

and befriended the New Zealand born artist George Johnson, who introduced Graham to the work of

Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

, Klee and Mondrian. Painted a series of abstract works based on his Central Australian experience. These were exhibited at Gallery A (Melbourne) in 1960, founded in the same year by Max Hutchinson and Clement Meadmore. Image:Kangaroo Paddock by Peter Graham 1957.jpg, ''Kangaroo Paddock'' by Peter Benjamin Graham 1957, Hand Ground Oil on Canvas, 1420mm × 2455mm.jpg Image:Waters-Of-Lethe-1964.jpg, ''The Waters Of Lethe'' by Peter Benjamin Graham 1964 Oil on canvas, 1680mm × 2890mm

Linear extension

*1961–1964 – Graham completed new series of paintings referred to as Linear Extensions. *1964–1973 – Graham conducted experimental studies based on new concept of Notation Painting. *1965 – Graham established his own photo-lithographic business, Photocraft Services. * In 1967 the Reverend Alfred M Dickie married Graham and Cynthia Louis who went on to raise a family of three children: Philip, Michaela and Euan Graham.

Peter Graham Gallery – Queensberry Street Gallery (Melbourne)

From 1971 to 1978, Graham created a series of experimental works using photographic and lithographic techniques and materials. In 1971, Graham befriended artist Paul Cavell and collaborated with him on his Notation Paintings between 1974 and 1976. In 1973, he opened the Peter Graham Gallery at 225 Queensberry Street, Carlton (6 April) supported by a photo-lithographic workshop in the same premises. Closed this gallery in 1974 and reopened it as the Queensberry Street Gallery in 1977. Graham's Solo Exhibitions at the Queensberry Street Gallery: * 1973 Notation Drawings and Paintings from 1961 to 1973 * Australian Watercolours from 1954, 1955 and 1973 * 1974 Western Port Foreshores * 1977 Western Port Places – Notation Painting * 1978 Survey from 1947 to 1978 During 1977, Graham collaborated with Noela Hjorth and the Victorian Printmakers' Group which at the time was lobbying for space in the Victorian Government's proposed Meatmarket Craft space. He was appointed to the Interim Committee in the formation stages of the Meatmarket Craft Centre and helped to draw up a plan for the establishment of an access workshop for Printmakers at the Meatmarket. As part of his involvement, he had set up a plate-graining service for artists and student Printmakers and became the manager of this facility. Victorian Printmakers' Workshop group show opened at The Queensberry Street Gallery by Professor Bernard Smith 26 July 1977. Graham closed his gallery in 1978 and transferred his workshop to a home studio in Canterbury (Melbourne) at the end of the year.

Final years

*1979–1984 – Graham experimented with esoteric printing techniques including

collotype Collotype is a gelatin-based photographic printing process invented by Alphonse Poitevin in 1855 to print images in a wide variety of tones without the need for halftone screens. The majority of collotypes were produced between the 1870s and ...

, and a new form of screenless lithography using a pre-sensitised

continuous tone A continuous tone image (contone for short, or CT even shorter) is one where each color at any point in the image is reproduced as a single tone, and not as discrete halftones, such as one single color for monochromatic prints, or a combination of ...

aluminium plate. *1981–1983 – Graham worked on series of drawings called Paradise Destroyed, and contributing to several anti-nuclear exhibitions. *1983 – Graham returned to his Central Australian subject matter with large series of

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

and oils entitled The Painted Land. Completed at this time a memoir of his stay in

, called 'Journal of a Small Journey'. (Taped version in Archives at

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "maint ...

, collected by

Barbara Blackman Barbara Blackman ( Patterson; born 22 December 1928) is an Australian writer, poet, librettist, broadcaster, model and patron of the arts. In 2004, she donated $1 million to a number of Australian music organisations, including Pro Musica, the A ...

*1984–1985 – Graham painted Tragic Landscape series. Graham returned to development of Notation Painting in 1986 in collaboration with his son, Philip Mitchell Graham. Arranged with Jan Martin for a retrospective exhibition to be held at her gallery in Lyttleton Street,

Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine ( , non-locally also ) is a small city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest by road from Melbourne and about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the major provincial centre of Be ...

. Graham admitted to Hospital where he was diagnosed with Cancer of the oesophagus December 1986. Graham died 15 April 1987 at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Melbourne. A memorial exhibition for Graham opened at the Lyttleton Gallery, Castlemaine in central Victoria on 6 June 1987, two days after what would have been his 62nd birthday.

Awards won

*Ferntree Gully Art Prize for best watercolour: ''Back Streets of Hawthorn'' 1946 *The Herald prize for best drawing: ''The Smokers'' 1947

Publications

*Graham, Peter, 'Artist's and Reality' Arena No 11 (1966), Arena publishing, Greensborough, Victoria, Australia *Graham, Peter, ''et al.'', 'PEACE', Callenders published by Congress for International Co-operation and Disarmament (1980, 1981, 1982) *Graham, Peter, Notation Illustrations for The Westernport Bay Symposium, Royal Society of Victoria Proceedings, Melbourne, Stillwell and Co. Vol 87, P1, 21 August 1975,

Collections

* Castlemaine Art Museum

Sources

* Bell, George, Review of Australia At War Exhibition, ''The Sun'', September 1945 * McCulloch, Alan, Review of Ferntree Gully Exhibition, ''The Herald'', 5 November 1945 * Turnbull, Clive, Preview of the Autumn Exhibition of the Victorian Artists Society, ''The Herald'', April 1946 * Bell, George, Preview of the Autumn Exhibition of the Victorian Artists Society, ''The Sun'', 27 April 1946 * Turnbull, Clive, Preview of the Spring Exhibition of the Victorian Artists Society, ''The Herald,'' 27? October 1946 * Bell, George, Review of the Ferntree Gully Art Exhibition, ''The Sun'', 9 December 1946 * McDonald, Review of the Ferntree Gully Art Exhibition, ''The Age'', 9 December 1946, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, * Bell, George, Review of the Autumn Exhibition of the Victorian Artists Society, ''The Sun'' 29 April 1947 * Turnbull, Clive, Preview of the exhibition of drawings at the Victorian Artists Society, ''The Herald'', 18 July 1947 * Shore, Arnold, Diversity of Work and Painters, ''The Argus'', June 1960 * McCulloch, Alan, Trend towards abstract, Melbourne ''The Herald'', 8 June 1960 * Boles, Bernard, Review of Peter's Notation drawings exhibition, ''The Nation Review'', April 1973 * McCulloch, Alan, Dynamism in our seascapes, ''The Herald'', p37, 16 May 1973 * McCulloch, Alan, An Object Lesson In Magnificence, ''The Herald'', 12 December 1973 * McCulloch, Alan, Review of Peter Graham's exhibition Western Port Foreshores, ''The Herald'', 2 October 1974 * George, Chris, Art Gets Into Print, ''The Sun'', 28 July 1977 * Germaine, Max, Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand, 1979 * Lahey, John, Quiet artists life revealed on 2500 canvasses creates a stir, ''The Age'', 7 July 1987, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, * Stone, Deborah, Beyond the Grave – A Painting Performed, ''The Australian'', 22 April 1988, R. Murdoch, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Australia, * Prendergast, Maria Ed. The 1989 Australian Arts Diary, (1988) * Litchman, Loy Dr. New Epoch Painting: The ideas of Peter Graham, InterACTA: Journal of the Art Teachers Association of Victoria, Published by ACTA, Parkville, Victoria, No 4, 1988, , Cited In APAIS. This database is available on the, Informit Online Internet Service or on CD-ROM, or on Australian Public Affairs – Full Text * Coster, Peter, Domestic treasures open up a masterly storehouse, ''The Australian'', 2 October 1990 * Graham, Philip Mitchell, New Epoch Art, InterACTA: Journal of the Art Teachers Association of Victoria, Published by ACTA, Parkville, Victoria, No 4, 1990, , Cited In APAIS. This database is available on the, Informit Online Internet Service or on CD-ROM, or on Australian Public Affairs – Full Text * Lancashire, Rebecca, The art of painting in numbers, ''The Age'', 25 May 1991, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, * McCulloch, Alan, ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art'', * Smith, Bernard, ''Noel Counihan Artist and Revolutionary'' Oxford University Press Australia 1993 * Heathcote, Christopher Dr. Harking back to Romantic spirit, ''The Age'', 6 August 1993, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, * Mc Culloch, Alan and Mc Culloch, Susan, The Encyclopedia of Australian Art, online version by Google books. p 304, 1994 * Heathcote, Christopher Dr. ''A Quite Revolution: the rise of Australian Art 1946 - 1968'' Melbourne: The Text Publishing Company, 1995, pp 8, 96, 125, 134, 160, 259, 263 * Grishin, Sasha. et al. "The art of Grahame King" Macmillan Art Publishing, South Yarra, Victoria, Australia, 2005 pp 20, 23, 95, * Film: Riot or Revolution. A dramatised documentary directed by Don Parham and produced by Parham Media Productions in association with the

2005 * Molony, John, Dawn Of A Democracy ''The Age'', 27 November 2006, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,

Primary source material publicly available

In 1989 Cynthia Graham was interviewed about her husband, Peter Graham. There are currently two tape recordings by Peter Graham available at the

, Petherick Oral History Reading Room: *''Interview with Peter Graham'' by Paul Davis ''et al.'', 5 June 1977 Concentrates on his early years in England and gives some information on his notation research *''Peter Graham reciting his memoir, Journal of a Small Journey''. Recording by Philip Mitchell Graham, 10 April 1982. This memoir details his motorbike trip to Alice Springs in 1954 and his subsequent experiences in Central Australia over the following 18 months.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Peter 1925 births 1987 deaths Artists from Melbourne Creators of writing systems Australian printmakers Visual music artists Australian graphic designers Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists 20th-century printmakers Australian male painters