John Perceval
Encyclopedia
John de Burgh Perceval AO
(1 February 1923 - 15 October 2000) was a well-known Australia
n artist
. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins
who redefined Australian art in the 1940s. Other members included John and Sunday Reed, Joy Hester
, Sidney Nolan
, Arthur Boyd
and Albert Tucker
.
Born Linwood Robert Steven South at Bruce Rock, Western Australia
, the second child of Robert South (a wheat farmer) and Dorothy née Dolton. His parents separated in 1925 and he remained at his father's farm until reunited with his mother in Melbourne
in 1935. Following the marriage of his mother to William de Burgh Perceval, he changed his name to John and adopted the surname de Burgh Perceval.
In 1938 Perceval contracted polio and was hospitalised, giving him the opportunity to further his skills at drawing and painting. Enlisting in the army in 1941 Perceval first met and befriended Arthur Boyd
. After leaving the army and moving into the Boyd family home at Open Country, Murrumbeena, he married Boyd's younger sister Mary in 1944. Together he and Mary Boyd produced four children.
Perceval held his first solo exhibition at the Melbourne Book Club in 1948 and showed regularly with the Contemporary Art Society. Between 1949 and 1955 he concentrated on producing earthenware ceramics and helped to establish the Arthur Merric Boyd Pottery in Murrumbeena. Returning to painting in 1956 Perceval produced a series of images of Williamstown
and Gaffney's Creek.
Moving to England in 1963 Perceval held solo exhibitions in London, and travelled to Europe, before returning to Australia in 1965 to take up the first Australian National University
Creative Fellowship. John Perceval, a major retrospective exhibition, was held at Albert Hall, Canberra
in 1966. Author Margaret Plant's monograph John Perceval, was published in 1971.
Suffering from alcoholism
and schizophrenia
in 1974 Perceval committed himself to the psychiatric hospital Larundel, Melbourne, where he remained until 1981. John Perceval: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings was held at Heide
Park and Art Gallery in 1984. Perceval was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia
(AO) in 1991, the year after the National Gallery of Victoria
organised John Perceval: A Retrospective.
In 2000 from 19 August to 19 October John Perceval Retrospective Exhibition was held in Galeria Aniela Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park officially opened by Chairman Sotheby’s (included 80 oil paintings and works on paper from 1946 to 1999). It was Perceval last Retrospective and shown on the ABC TV Australian National News.
Prior to his death Scudding Swans (1959) sold for $552,500, a record for a living Australian painter. In March 2010 John Perceval Scudding Swans sold for $690,000.
Perceval is survived by his four children; Matthew, Tessa, Celia and Alice all of whom are practicing artists today.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(1 February 1923 - 15 October 2000) was a well-known Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins
Angry Penguins
Angry Penguins was an Australian literary and artistic avant-garde movement of the 1940s. The movement was stimulated by a modernist magazine of the same name published by the surrealist poet Max Harris, who founded the magazine in 1940, at the age of 18....
who redefined Australian art in the 1940s. Other members included John and Sunday Reed, Joy Hester
Joy Hester
Joy St Clair Hester was an Australian artist who played an important, though sometimes underrated, role in the development of Australian modernism, though her works could also be considered Abstract Expressionism....
, Sidney Nolan
Sidney Nolan
Sir Sidney Robert Nolan OM, AC was one of Australia's best-known painters and printmakers.-Early life:Nolan was born in Carlton, a suburb of Melbourne, on 22 April 1917. He was the eldest of four children. His family later moved to St Kilda. Nolan attended the Brighton Road State School and...
, Arthur Boyd
Arthur Boyd
Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
and Albert Tucker
Albert Tucker (artist)
Albert Lee Tucker , a pivotal Australian artist, was a member of the Heide Circle, a group of leading modernist artists and writers that centred on the art patrons John and Sunday Reed, whose home, "Heide", located in Bulleen, near Heidelberg , was a haven for the group...
.
Born Linwood Robert Steven South at Bruce Rock, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, the second child of Robert South (a wheat farmer) and Dorothy née Dolton. His parents separated in 1925 and he remained at his father's farm until reunited with his mother in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1935. Following the marriage of his mother to William de Burgh Perceval, he changed his name to John and adopted the surname de Burgh Perceval.
In 1938 Perceval contracted polio and was hospitalised, giving him the opportunity to further his skills at drawing and painting. Enlisting in the army in 1941 Perceval first met and befriended Arthur Boyd
Arthur Boyd
Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
. After leaving the army and moving into the Boyd family home at Open Country, Murrumbeena, he married Boyd's younger sister Mary in 1944. Together he and Mary Boyd produced four children.
Perceval held his first solo exhibition at the Melbourne Book Club in 1948 and showed regularly with the Contemporary Art Society. Between 1949 and 1955 he concentrated on producing earthenware ceramics and helped to establish the Arthur Merric Boyd Pottery in Murrumbeena. Returning to painting in 1956 Perceval produced a series of images of Williamstown
Williamstown, Victoria
Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733....
and Gaffney's Creek.
Moving to England in 1963 Perceval held solo exhibitions in London, and travelled to Europe, before returning to Australia in 1965 to take up the first Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
Creative Fellowship. John Perceval, a major retrospective exhibition, was held at Albert Hall, Canberra
Albert Hall, Canberra
The Albert Hall is a hall in Canberra, Australia, used for entertainment. It is on Commonwealth Avenue between Commonwealth Bridge and the Hotel Canberra in the suburb of Yarralumla.- Overview :...
in 1966. Author Margaret Plant's monograph John Perceval, was published in 1971.
Suffering from alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
in 1974 Perceval committed himself to the psychiatric hospital Larundel, Melbourne, where he remained until 1981. John Perceval: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings was held at Heide
Heide
Heide is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000.The German word Heide means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided to build a church in the "middle of the heath". This remained the town's name to date...
Park and Art Gallery in 1984. Perceval was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AO) in 1991, the year after the National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
organised John Perceval: A Retrospective.
In 2000 from 19 August to 19 October John Perceval Retrospective Exhibition was held in Galeria Aniela Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park officially opened by Chairman Sotheby’s (included 80 oil paintings and works on paper from 1946 to 1999). It was Perceval last Retrospective and shown on the ABC TV Australian National News.
Prior to his death Scudding Swans (1959) sold for $552,500, a record for a living Australian painter. In March 2010 John Perceval Scudding Swans sold for $690,000.
Perceval is survived by his four children; Matthew, Tessa, Celia and Alice all of whom are practicing artists today.
Honours and awards
- 1959: McCaughey PrizeMcCaughey PrizeThe McCaughey Prize is an Australian art prize awarded to an artist or artists, under which the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of New South Wales acquire work by the winning artist....
- 1960: Wynne PrizeWynne PrizeThe Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. One of Australia's longest running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne...
for Dairy Farm, Victoria - 1991: Officer of the Order of AustraliaOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for service to the visual arts