David Edgar Strachan (25 June 1919 – 23 November 1970) 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 ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniqu ...

and teacher. Strachan was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, in 1919 to a doctor in the Australian Army. In 1920 David and his family moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, later moving to

Creswick, Victoria Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a populati ...

. He was educated at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is an Independent school, independent Anglican co-educational Boarding school, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio, Victoria, Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, ...

, Victoria. He moved to London in 1936 to study at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

under Randolph Schwabe for two years. In 1937 he attended the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Académ ...

, Paris and worked as a printmaker. He returned to Australia in April 1938 and worked with George Bell in

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 me ...

for a few years. Strachan moved to Sydney in 1941, and exhibited with many other prominent artists of the Contemporary Art Group. He again left for Europe in 1948 where he began experimenting in etching in Paris. In May 1960 Strachan returned to Sydney, continuing to exhibit. He was a member of Sydney Printmakers, and taught etching at East Sydney Technical College (1960–1965). He was the last president of the Society of Artists, serving in 1965. Strachan held solo and group shows in London and Paris and appeared in the Paris UNESCO Exposition. He exhibited his prints in numerous Australian galleries between 1961 and 1978. He won the

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 ...

in 1961 and 1964. Strachan died on 23 November 1970 from a motorcar accident near

Yass, New South Wales Yass () is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Council. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" (or "Yharr"), said to mean 'running water'. Yass is located 280 km so ...

. His works are held in 15 major galleries in Australia and in many European and American galleries.

Notes and references

External links

Works by David Strachan
held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, David Edgar 1919 births People from Salisbury Australian printmakers Wynne Prize winners 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Road incident deaths in New South Wales 1970 deaths 20th-century printmakers People educated at Geelong Grammar School Australian male painters British emigrants to Australia