George Finey
Encyclopedia
George Edmond Finey was an Australia
n black-and-white artist born in Parnell, New Zealand
, noted for his unconventional appearance and left-wing politics.
While working as an apprentice lithographer at the New Zealand Herald, he was studying part-time at the Elam School of Art, sharing a studio with Unk White
.
He served with the New Zealand Army
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
as an under-age private in France
before being appointed as an official War Artist
during World War I
. After the war, he studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic
School of Art in London
and arrived in Sydney
in 1919. In 1921 he was appointed by Alex Sass as a staff artist with Smith's Weekly
.
Although he started with humorous sketches, it was for his caricatures that he became famous, initiating in Smith's Weekly a "Man of he Week". The first subject was Archbishop Mannix. He was sacked by Smith's Weekly after a legal tussle over ownership of works he had produced for the paper.
He worked for the Labor Daily
for three months before being dropped for his antagonism towards Jack Lang
, then with Truth
for a few years. He also worked for the Daily Telegraph, which he left in 1945 after Will Mahony had refused to draw an anti-Labor
cartoon, and the Militant Minority Movement paper The Red Leader.
Finey also illustrated stories and articles appearing in the School Magazine
published by the NSW Department of Education. The issues of June and August and Sept 1947 contain examples of his work.
He then turned to painting in an expressionistic style; possibly the first Australian painter to experiment with collage
.
In 1978 he had a retrospective exhibition at the Sydney Opera House
.
He was considered by Stan Cross to be the greatest of Australia's newspaper artists. George Blaikie
remembers him as an unkempt long-haired sandal-wearing bohemian, fearlessly honest in his work, and generous to a fault.
He was an acknowledged influence on the work of Noel Counihan
,
He was one of the 25 foundation members of the Black and White Artists' Society (later Club). and was prominent in its activities until shortly before he died.
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 black-and-white artist born in Parnell, New Zealand
Parnell, New Zealand
Parnell is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is often billed as Auckland's "oldest suburb" since it dates from the earliest days of the European settlement of Auckland in 1841...
, noted for his unconventional appearance and left-wing politics.
While working as an apprentice lithographer at the New Zealand Herald, he was studying part-time at the Elam School of Art, sharing a studio with Unk White
Unk White
Cecil John White , known under the penname Unk White, was an Australian cartoonist born in Auckland, New Zealand.He came to Sydney in 1922 with the artists Joe and Guy Lynch and was soon immersed in the bohemian scene there....
.
He served with the New Zealand Army
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight for Britain during World War I and World War II. Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I was known as the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force...
as an under-age private in 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 being appointed as an official War Artist
War artist
A war artist depicts some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how "war shapes lives." War artists have explored a visual and sensory dimension of war which is often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.- Definition and context:A...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After the war, he studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
School of Art 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...
and arrived in 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...
in 1919. In 1921 he was appointed by Alex Sass as a staff artist with Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. An independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia, Smith’s Weekly was one of Australia’s most patriotic newspaper-style magazines....
.
Although he started with humorous sketches, it was for his caricatures that he became famous, initiating in Smith's Weekly a "Man of he Week". The first subject was Archbishop Mannix. He was sacked by Smith's Weekly after a legal tussle over ownership of works he had produced for the paper.
He worked for the Labor Daily
Labor daily
The Labor Daily was a Sydney-based journal/newspaper of the early to mid 20th century. An organ of the Australian Labor Party, it was published in Sydney by Stanley Roy Wasson after the ailing Daily Mail was absorbed by Labor Papers Ltd, who began publication under that name on 6 January 1922 with...
for three months before being dropped for his antagonism towards Jack Lang
Jack Lang (Australian politician)
John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
, then with Truth
Truth (Sydney newspaper)
The Truth was a newspaper published in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in August 1890 by William Nicholas Willis and its first editor was Adolphus Taylor. In 1891 it claimed to be "The organ of radical democracy and Australian National Independence" and advocated "a republican Commonwealth...
for a few years. He also worked for the Daily Telegraph, which he left in 1945 after Will Mahony had refused to draw an anti-Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
cartoon, and the Militant Minority Movement paper The Red Leader.
Finey also illustrated stories and articles appearing in the School Magazine
School Magazine
The School Magazine is a literary magazine for children which has been published continuously by the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities in its many incarnations since 1916...
published by the NSW Department of Education. The issues of June and August and Sept 1947 contain examples of his work.
He then turned to painting in an expressionistic style; possibly the first Australian painter to experiment with collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
.
"Money for paints is scarce if you are living on the pension, and Finey creates constantly out of waste, scrap and natural materials. He has made a whole series out of rolled-up, varnished newspapers, and he is adding to his History of Music with portraits of composers done in plastic foam, etched out with fine sandpaper. He uses rags, twine, shells, clay and stumps taken from the bush..."
In 1978 he had a retrospective exhibition at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
He was considered by Stan Cross to be the greatest of Australia's newspaper artists. George Blaikie
George Blaikie
George Neil Blaikie was an Australian author and journalist.He was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Grammar School and Melbourne University. He joined Smith's Weekly in December 1931. His bank manager father had impressed on its owner Joynton Smith, a customer, what an asset the boy would...
remembers him as an unkempt long-haired sandal-wearing bohemian, fearlessly honest in his work, and generous to a fault.
He was an acknowledged influence on the work of Noel Counihan
Noel Counihan
Noel Counihan was an Australian social realist painter.Counihan was born in Albert Park, then a working-class suburb of Melbourne. He attended Caulfield Grammar School in 1928...
,
He was one of the 25 foundation members of the Black and White Artists' Society (later Club). and was prominent in its activities until shortly before he died.