Clifton Pugh
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Clifton Ernest Pugh AO, (17 December 1924 – 14 October 1990) was an Australian artist and three-time winner of Australia's
Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...
. One of Australia's most renowned and successful painters, Pugh was strongly influenced by
German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...
, and was known for his
landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...
and
portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
. Important early group exhibitions include The Antipodeans, the exhibition for which Bernard Smith drafted a manifesto in support of Australian
figurative painting Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract ...
, an exhibition in which
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, ...
, David Boyd,
John Brack John Brack (10 May 1920 – 11 February 1999) was an Australian painter, and a member of the Antipodeans group. According to one critic, Brack's early works captured the idiosyncrasies of their time "more powerfully and succinctly than any Aust ...
, Robert Dickerson,
John Perceval John de Burgh Perceval AO (1 February 1923 – 15 October 2000) was a well-known Australian artist. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins who redefined Australian art in the 1940s. Other members include ...
and Charles Blackman showed; a joint exhibition with
Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...
, in which the two responded to
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...
ism; and Group of Four at the Victorian Artists Society Gallery with Pugh, John Howley, Don Laycock and Lawrence Daws. Pugh was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1985 for service to Australian Art. In 1990 he was appointed as the Australian War Memorial's official artist at the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Gallipoli landing.


Early life

Pugh was born in
Richmond, Victoria Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 28,587 at the 2021 census, with a m ...
, one of three to an English-born Thomas Owen Pugh, an assistant mechanical engineer and Adeliade born wife Violet Odgen (Cook) Both Pugh's parents were amateur painters, and as a young man during the 1940s Pugh attended evening classes at the Swinburne Technical College to study cartoon drawing. Two years later whilst living in
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 ...
he took evening classes in
life drawing A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures using any of the drawing media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representation may range from highly detailed, ...
at the South Australian School of Arts and Crafts. Pugh served with the AIF in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
during World War II and with the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, ...
in Japan after the war. A group of Japanese soldiers surrendered to the unit with which Pugh was fighting during a lull in fighting. On receiving orders to proceed, Pugh (and possibly others) tortured, shot and killed them. This incident and the guilt he felt affected his attitude to war (he became a pacifist) and his painting.


Career

After serving in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, with the financial support of the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Training Scheme, Pugh returned 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 ...
and enrolled in the National Gallery of Victoria Art School. Pugh was heavily influenced by German Expressionism. He read Sheldon Cheney's ''The Story of Modern Art'' (1941) while recuperating in hospital in New Guinea during World War II. Pugh's primary influence was
Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj;  – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
: "I can see Kandinsky in everything I do." His training at the National Gallery School gave him a strong foundation in drawing and he learned the tonal painting technique, but when he took his teacher William (Bill) Dargie to see the first of Sidney Nolan's Kelly and Dargie's attitude was dismissive, Pugh left the school to develop his own ideas. In 1951 Pugh bought of bushland near Cottles Bridge, northeast of Melbourne, which he named ''Dunmoochin''. Pugh at first camped on the site, then built a
wattle-and-daub Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...
shack. Artists, potters and others also settled at the site. In order to protect and jointly control the area they formed the Dunmoochin Artists Co-operative with a constitution of 13 articles. It was not a
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
in any sense of the word except that the titles were communally held. When the co-operative eventually disbanded each member took a section of the land. Artists who worked or resided at Dunmoochin have included Rick Amor,
Frank Hodgkinson Frank Hodgkinson (23 April 1919—20 October 2001) was a noted Australian printmaker, painter and graphic artist. Life Hodgkinson was educated at Fort Street High School and after leaving began work as a commercial artist and newspaper illust ...
, John Howley, Helen Laycock, Peter Laycock,
Mirka Mora Mirka Madeleine Mora (18 March 1928 – 27 August 2018) was a French-born Australian visual artist and cultural figure who contributed significantly to the development of contemporary art in Australia. Her media included drawing, painting, s ...
, Kevin Nolan,
John Olsen John Wayne Olsen, AO (born 7 June 1945) is a former Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, C ...
,
John Perceval John de Burgh Perceval AO (1 February 1923 – 15 October 2000) was a well-known Australian artist. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins who redefined Australian art in the 1940s. Other members include ...
, Alma Shanahan, Albert Tucker, Frank Werther, Fred Williams and Peter and Chris Wiseman. Pugh travelled across the
Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of , 'no', and , 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its ...
to
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
in 1954 then the Kimberley in 1956. These journeys led to radical changes in his style. Pugh encountered
indigenous Australian art Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving ...
for the first time and began utilizing incision, cross-hatching and collage. The work inspired by these journeys was part of the Group of Four Exhibits in 1955 and 1956. In 1959 Pugh wrote to Bernard Smith: Close observation of nature and its cyclical and savage rhythms became a constant theme in Pugh's painting. Pugh held his first solo show in 1957 at 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 ...
Gallery, where he displayed landscapes and portraits. The show was well received by critics. Col. Aubrey Gibson, chairman of the National Gallery, was an early patron, as were a group of businessmen led by David Yencken and the businessman
Andrew Grimwade Sir Andrew Sheppard Grimwade, CBE (born 26 November 1930) is an Australian chemical engineer, scientist, philanthropist, businessman and cattle breeder. He is best known for his service for 15 years as honorary President of the National Galler ...
. Pugh joined the stable of the Sydney art dealer Rudy Komon. Komon paid his artists a stipend, balanced against sales of their work, and this generosity made them very loyal, as it gave them stability and freedom from daily money worries. Pugh had consistent official support in the crucial early stages of his career. His inclusion in the 1961
Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
and 1963
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
exhibitions of Australian art gave him international exposure. In 1966 Komon arranged a one-man show for Pugh at the Artists' Guild Gallery in
St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in the United States; The
Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust is a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pro ...
staged a retrospective of his work in 1970. He was represented in London by Andre Kalman, who showed him in 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1979, and with the Athol Gallery on the Isle of Man. The Historic Memorials Committee bought his 1964 portrait of the Governor-General Lord De L'Isle and his 1972 portrait of
Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the ...
. Pugh's fame as an artist grew in the 1970s following the print publication of two radio plays by Ivan Smith: ''Death of a Wombat'' and ''Dingo King'', both of which featured Pugh's drawings and paintings.


Printmaker

Pugh worked with the printmaker Stanley Hayter for three months in Paris in 1970. He brought Hayter’s oil viscosity printing technique back to Australia the same year. Pugh and John Olsen purchased an
etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
press and operated it at Dunmoochin. In 1971 Pugh invited
Frank Hodgkinson Frank Hodgkinson (23 April 1919—20 October 2001) was a noted Australian printmaker, painter and graphic artist. Life Hodgkinson was educated at Fort Street High School and after leaving began work as a commercial artist and newspaper illust ...
to move to Dunmoochin and Pugh's "enthusiasm proved to be a major stimulus for Hodgkinson's printmaking."


Politics and art

Pugh chaired the Victorian ALP Arts Policy Committee from 1971, and Gough Whitlam appointed Pugh to the Australia Council for the Arts in 1973. Pugh made public his disagreements with Council chairman H C "Nugget" Coombes who refused to implement the policy Pugh and his fellow committee members had crafted and then taken through the processes of the Victorian and Federal ALP conferences to become official ALP arts policy. Pugh resigned from the Council in 1974. In 1981 as Whitlam launched Pugh's biography at Realities Gallery, he joked about having to make his speech in front of his nemesis
Sir John Kerr Sir John Robert Kerr (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constit ...
in a controversial portrait painted by Pugh in 1975; "I'll have you know I had nothing to do with the placing of the exhibit."


Protanope colour vision deficiency

Pugh's brother and grandnephew had protanope colour vision deficiency and it is probable that he did on biographical, gene pedigree inheritance and other grounds (such as failing the colour vision test when endeavouring to enlist in the Navy).


Personal life

Pugh married three times: to June Byford, Marlene Harvey and Judith Ley. Pugh had two sons with Marlene, Shane and Dailan. Pugh became a pacifist during World War II, while on active service, and retained this position during the Vietnam War. He joined the Labor Party to campaign for the end of Australia's involvement in that War. The marriage to Marlene ended in 1969, they divorced in 1971. In 1970 Pugh met Judith. He became very well known, as he and Judith used his status as a painter to improve that of the ALP. They did this in order to ensure the election of the ALP as Pugh was an anti war activist. They separated in 1980 and divorced in 1981. He lived for some years with Adriane Strampp, who trained as a painter.


Death and legacy

Pugh returned to painting full-time after his experience with the Australia Council, and despite suffering three heart attacks and minor ischaemic episodes, continued to paint and make prints until his fatal heart attack in 1990. Pugh established the Dunmoochin Foundation which now forms part of his legacy, and provides residences for artists in his bush property. Pugh also donated Dunmoochin land to the Victorian Conservation Trust (now Trust for Nature) in 1989. Two plants of national significance have been recorded on this land.


Archibald Prize winning works

*1965 – R A Henderson *1971 – Sir
John McEwen Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...
*1972 – '' The Hon E.G. Whitlam''


Documentary films featuring Clifton Pugh

*Painting People ( Commonwealth Film Unit, directed by
Tim Burstall Timothy Burstall AM (20 April 1927 – 19 April 2004) was an English Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for hit Australian movie '' Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel '' Alvin Rides Again''. Burstall's films featured ...
) *Bird and Animal (Eltham Films) *Four Painters (ATV Channel 0, Melbourne) *See It My Way (ABC Channel 2, Sydney) *The Diamantina (De Montignie Media Productions) *A Fragile Country *Australian Story: Children of the Brush Part 1 (ABC Channel 2,Sydney )


References


Further reading


After fire : a biography of Clifton Pugh
by Sally Morrison, 2009 *
Clifton Pugh, patterns of a lifetime : a biography
by Traudi Alle
1981
* Clifton Pugh by Noel Macainsh, 1962
Unstill Life : art, politics and living with Clifton Pugh
by Judith Pugh, 2008


External links


Interview with Clifton Pugh, Australian painter
Oral History Recording,
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 "mainta ...
. Recorded at Carlton, Melbourne and Dunmoochin on 11 and 18 May 1983. Interviewer: Barbara Blackman (8 hours)
''A cat in a rabbit-trap''
1957
''Barry Humphries''
1958
''Europa and the Bull''
1971
''(Self portrait in hospital bed, with thermometer in mouth)''
1977
Dunmoochin Foundation

Pugh discusses his work and influences
Australian National Film and Sound Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh, Clifton 1924 births 1990 deaths Australian painters Australian portrait painters Officers of the Order of Australia Expressionist painters People from Richmond, Victoria Archibald Prize winners Artists from Melbourne Military personnel from Melbourne National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni