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David Boyd (artist)
Encyclopedia
David Fielding Gough Boyd, OAM (23 August 192410 November 2011) was an Australia
n artist, and a member of the Boyd artistic dynasty
.
married Doris Gough and had five artistic children, Lucy de Guzman Boyd, Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, Guy Martin à Beckett Boyd
, David Fielding Gough Boyd, and Mary Elizabeth Boyd.
In 1948 David Boyd married Hermia Lloyd-Jones, the daughter of graphic artist Herman and Erica Lloyd-Jones. Following the tradition of their family, their three daughters Amanda, Lucinda, and Cassandra are artists. http://www.artema.com.au/Boyd/aus_nz/david.htm
In 1946, he worked with his brother Guy at the Martin Boyd Pottery in Sydney. He also established a pottery studio in London
in the early 1950s and continued working mainly in pottery through to the mid-1960s. In 1956, Boyd and his wife became widely known as leading Australian potters. They introduced new glazing techniques and potter's wheel
use in shaping sculptural figures.
Boyd's painting career began in 1957 with a series of symbolic paintings on Australian explorers that aroused much controversy at the time, focusing as they did on the tragic history of the Tasmania
n aborigines. In 1958 he exhibited a series of paintings based on the histological episodes in the explorations of Burke and Wills and Bass
and Flinders
. He joined the Antipodeans Group
in the 1950s.
Boyd discovered a technique in 1966 that he named Sfumato
, after da Vinci's usage of the word to describe graduations of smoky tones in painting. Boyd's method achieved this effect through a new technique involving candle flame.
Boyd and his family moved to Rome in 1961, and later moved to London. They also spent several years creating art in Spain
and the south of France
before returning permanently to Australia in 1975.
David Boyd was artist-in-residence at the School of Law, Macquarie University
, Sydney
from 1993-1996.
In a September 2004 art review, Alex McDonald of State of the Arts magazine stated that David Boyd's work was 'ahead of his time in addressing the mistreatment of Indigenous people in Australia
, but commented that an 'explanation for his frosty reception from Australian critics and dealers may have something to do with his choice of subject matter'. McDonald explained that the controversy may have stemmed from the fact that the 'legal system, race relations and religion' are 'not exactly popular issues' and were not 'up for debate in the late 1950s'.
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, and a member of the Boyd artistic dynasty
Boyd Family
The Boyd family is an Australian artistic dynasty. Members of the family over several generations have established themselves as painters, artists, illustrators, sculptors, potters, ceramists, writers, architects, graphic designers, and musicians....
.
Boyd family artistic dynasty
The Boyd artistic dynasty began with the marriage of Emma Minnie à Beckett (known as Minnie) and Arthur Merric Boyd in 1886. Both were already established as painters at the time of their marriage. Their second-born son William Merric BoydMerric Boyd
William Merric Boyd was an Australian artist active as a ceramicist, painter, and sculptor.Merric Boyd is credited as the father of studio pottery in Australia; he is also known for his drawing, painting and sculpting...
married Doris Gough and had five artistic children, Lucy de Guzman Boyd, Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, Guy Martin à Beckett Boyd
Guy Boyd (sculptor)
Guy Martin à Beckett Boyd was an Australian sculptor.Born in Murrumbeena, Victoria, he was a member of the famous Boyd artistic dynasty, and brother of painters Arthur Boyd and David Boyd. Guy Boyd was a potter and figurative sculptor noted for his ability to capture the fluidity and sensuality of...
, David Fielding Gough Boyd, and Mary Elizabeth Boyd.
In 1948 David Boyd married Hermia Lloyd-Jones, the daughter of graphic artist Herman and Erica Lloyd-Jones. Following the tradition of their family, their three daughters Amanda, Lucinda, and Cassandra are artists. http://www.artema.com.au/Boyd/aus_nz/david.htm
Education and career
Boyd entered the Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music in Melbourne at seventeen, but was conscripted to the army after one year. Upon his return, he studied art at the National Gallery School on an ex-serviceman's grant.In 1946, he worked with his brother Guy at the Martin Boyd Pottery in Sydney. He also established a pottery studio in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the early 1950s and continued working mainly in pottery through to the mid-1960s. In 1956, Boyd and his wife became widely known as leading Australian potters. They introduced new glazing techniques and potter's wheel
Potter's wheel
In pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in asma of round ceramic ware. The wheel may also be used during process of trimming the excess body from dried ware and for applying incised decoration or rings of color...
use in shaping sculptural figures.
Boyd's painting career began in 1957 with a series of symbolic paintings on Australian explorers that aroused much controversy at the time, focusing as they did on the tragic history of the Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n aborigines. In 1958 he exhibited a series of paintings based on the histological episodes in the explorations of Burke and Wills and Bass
George Bass
George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...
and Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
. He joined the Antipodeans Group
Antipodeans Group
-History:The Antipodeans group consisted of seven modern painters and the art historian Bernard Smith, who compiled The Antipodean Manifesto, a declaration fashioned from the artists' comments as a catalogue essay to accompany their exhibit....
in the 1950s.
Boyd discovered a technique in 1966 that he named Sfumato
Sfumato
Sfumato is one of the four canonical painting modes of the Renaissance .The most prominent practitioner of sfumato was Leonardo da Vinci, and his famous painting of the Mona Lisa exhibits the technique. Leonardo da Vinci described sfumato as "without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke or...
, after da Vinci's usage of the word to describe graduations of smoky tones in painting. Boyd's method achieved this effect through a new technique involving candle flame.
Boyd and his family moved to Rome in 1961, and later moved to London. They also spent several years creating art in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
before returning permanently to Australia in 1975.
David Boyd was artist-in-residence at the School of Law, Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
from 1993-1996.
In a September 2004 art review, Alex McDonald of State of the Arts magazine stated that David Boyd's work was 'ahead of his time in addressing the mistreatment of Indigenous people in 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...
, but commented that an 'explanation for his frosty reception from Australian critics and dealers may have something to do with his choice of subject matter'. McDonald explained that the controversy may have stemmed from the fact that the 'legal system, race relations and religion' are 'not exactly popular issues' and were not 'up for debate in the late 1950s'.
Appointments and awards
- President of the Contemporary Art Society - Victorian branch (1960)
- Elected Councillor of the Museum of Modern Art of Australia (1960)
- First Prize Italian Art Scholarship for Australian Chairman of the Federal Council of the *Contemporary Art Society of Australia (1961)
- Artist-in-residence at the School of Law, Macquarie University, NSW (1993–96)
- MEMBRO ALBO DORO DEL SENATO ACCADEMICO - International Academy of Modern Art, Rome, Italy (1998)