Rex Julius (5 June 1914 – 19 May 1944) was an Australian official war artist of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A

commercial artist Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

before the war, Julius enlisted in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

(RAN) in June 1940. He served overseas with the RAN and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and was selected as the RAN's first official war artist in 1944 on the strength of drawings he had completed during his spare time. As an official war artist Julius prepared works in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and on a

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

. He died of disease in May 1944.

Biography

Rex Julius was born in

on 5 June 1914. He was the son of

Harry Julius Henry George "Harry" Julius (15 November 1885 – 29 June 1938) was an Australian commercial artist who had a long association with Sydney Ure Smith. History Julius was born in Sydney. While quite young he enlisted with volunteers and served in ...

, a well known

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Abril Lamarque (1904–1999) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfre ...

who jointly ran a commercial art businesses and later established an advertising company, and Isabel Julius. His only sibling, Ruth Julius, also became a successful artist. Upper deck of a Fairmile ship 1944 - Rex Julius

Upper deck of a Fairmile ship 1944 - Rex Julius

Julius worked as a

prior to

. He joined the

(RAN) on 17 June 1940. Julius was trained for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

roles. After completing training, Julius served overseas with the

and RAN for three years. He was promoted to the rank of

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

on 17 June 1941. Julius made a number of drawings during his spare time while in the navy. In October 1943 one of these works depicting

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

was exhibited in Sydney; Julius helped to hang the works shown at the exhibition during a period of leave. Julius was appointed as the first RAN official war artist in 1944 after senior officers saw a

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...

of his drawings. He was the lowest-ranked Australian official war artist of World War II, and was not promoted following his appointment. During his time as an official war artist, Julius was initially attached to HMAS ''Rushcutter'' in Sydney. His work in this posting was focused on the operations of the RAN's

Fairmile B motor launch The Fairmile B motor launch (often abbreviated to 'ML') was a very numerous class of motor launch produced in kit form by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, and then assembled and fitted out by numerous boatyards during the Second World Wa ...

es. During his period at ''Rushcutter'' Julius also sketched members of the

Women's Royal Australian Naval Service The Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) was the women's branch of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). In 1941, fourteen members of the civilian Women's Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC) were recruited for wireless telegraphy work at ...

undertaking duties for the navy. Julius then travelled to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

on board the corvette , and made a series of sketches during the voyage. These works were focused on the activities of the sailors, including while they were resting. On 19 May 1944 Julius died at

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...

in the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the ...

as the result of a throat

abscess An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body, usually caused by bacterial infection. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pre ...

and

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

. He is buried at

Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery Port Moresby (Bomana) Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery dating from World War II near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The cemetery contains the graves of those who died in the fighting in the former Territory of Papua and ...

. Due to his short career as an official war artist and death at a young age, Julius' work is not well known. Two of his paintings are in the Australian War Memorial's collection. The

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that is the National archives, official repository for all federal government documents. It ...

holds the sketchbooks from his period as an official war artist, and has noted that "Rex Julius's charcoals and watercolour sketches capture human moments against the backdrop of a ferocious naval war".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius, Rex 1914 births 1944 deaths 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Artists from Sydney Australian male painters Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian war artists World War II artists Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Royal Australian Navy sailors