Fred Cress
Encyclopedia
Frederick Harold Cress AM
(10 July 1938 – 14 October 2009) was a British painter who migrated to Australia
and won the Archibald Prize
in 1988 with a portrait of John Beard
.
Cress was born in Poona, India
, but went to England with his parents in 1948, when he was ten. He was educated at the Birmingham College of Art
in England, and migrated to Australia in 1962 as a "ten pound Pom", meaning that he only had to pay ten pound for his fare to Australia.
Cress met the painter Anne Judell and married her in 1967, they divorced in 1991. He started his career painting figuratively, but became well known for his abstract work in the late 60s and 70s. He returned to figurative painting in the late 80s after he won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of his friend and colleague, John Beard.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia
in 2003 for services to visual arts.
In 1990 Cress bought a 17th century stone farmhouse in Southern Burgundy, France. He spent the next 20 years of his life living half the year in France and half the year in Sydney with his partner, the photographer, Victoria Fernandez. Many of Cress's later works have visual references to his time spent in France.
Cress was diagnosed with prostate cancer
in January 2003. In 2009 he declined to continue with treatment while he worked on his last exhibition, entitled 'End Game One', held in Australian Galleries, Paddington
. He died on 14 October 2009.
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"...
(10 July 1938 – 14 October 2009) was a British painter who migrated to 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...
and won the Archibald Prize
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
in 1988 with a portrait of John Beard
John Stanley Beard
John Stanley Beard was a British-born forester and ecologist who resided in Australia. While working with the Forestry Division in Trinidad and Tobago during the 1940s, Beard developed a system of forest classification for Tropical America and described the forests of Trinidad, Tobago, and the...
.
Cress was born in Poona, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, but went to England with his parents in 1948, when he was ten. He was educated at the Birmingham College of Art
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is the largest British university art and design teaching and research centre outside London. It is a faculty of Birmingham City University and the largest, most successful department of the university.-History:BIAD dates back, in various incarnations, to...
in England, and migrated to Australia in 1962 as a "ten pound Pom", meaning that he only had to pay ten pound for his fare to Australia.
Cress met the painter Anne Judell and married her in 1967, they divorced in 1991. He started his career painting figuratively, but became well known for his abstract work in the late 60s and 70s. He returned to figurative painting in the late 80s after he won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of his friend and colleague, John Beard.
He was made a Member 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"...
in 2003 for services to visual arts.
In 1990 Cress bought a 17th century stone farmhouse in Southern Burgundy, France. He spent the next 20 years of his life living half the year in France and half the year in Sydney with his partner, the photographer, Victoria Fernandez. Many of Cress's later works have visual references to his time spent in France.
Cress was diagnosed with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in January 2003. In 2009 he declined to continue with treatment while he worked on his last exhibition, entitled 'End Game One', held in Australian Galleries, Paddington
Paddington, New South Wales
Paddington is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Paddington is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Sydney and the Municipality of Woollahra...
. He died on 14 October 2009.