Vietnam
Oil on Board
75x100cm
Signed Lower Right, Dated 66
Prov: Private Collection Perth
Charles Nodrum Gallery
Private Collection Adelaide
$6,000-8,000
Exhibited: Charles Nodrum Gallery, Abstraction 2016. Gallery label verso.
Ivor Francis occupies an important position in the history of Australian modernism and is recognised as one of the country’s significant Surrealist painters. A leading figure in Adelaide’s progressive artistic community during the 1940s, Francis was instrumental in challenging conservative artistic traditions and introducing new approaches influenced by European Surrealism, symbolism and contemporary political thought.
Born in England in 1906, Francis arrived in South Australia in 1924 and studied at the South Australian School of Arts and Crafts. His association with the influential poet Max Harris, founder of the avant-garde literary journal Angry Penguins, proved particularly important to his artistic development. Francis was a founding committee member of the South Australian branch of the Contemporary Art Society in 1942, an organisation instrumental in advancing modern art in Australia. In 1943, he organised Adelaide’s controversial Anti-Fascist Exhibition, reflecting his belief that art should engage with the political and social concerns of its time.
Francis developed a distinctive Surrealist style characterised by psychological imagery, distorted figures and apocalyptic themes. His paintings frequently explored the destructive nature of humanity, particularly in response to the devastation of the Second World War. Alongside his painting, Francis was an influential art critic, writer and educator, contributing to Angry Penguins and writing extensively on contemporary art.
His contribution to Australian art has been recognised through important institutional exhibitions. Five paintings were included in Aspects of Australian Surrealism at the Art Gallery of South Australia in 1976, followed by a major retrospective at the same institution in 1987. In 1993, three works were selected for the landmark exhibition Surrealism: Revolution by Night at the National Gallery of Australia. His paintings are represented in major public collections, including the Art Gallery of South Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. Francis received an Australia Council emeritus award in 1988 and an Order of Australia honour in 1989, recognising his contribution as a painter, critic and teacher.
Francis remains an important figure in Australian art history, both for his individual artistic achievements and his influential role in establishing Surrealism within Australia’s modernist movement.
