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:: Biography :: | Featured Works
David Boyd was born in 1924 at Murrumbeena in Victoria. The Boyd artistic dynasty
originated in Australia with the marriage of Arthur Merric Boyd to Emma Minne a'Beckett in
1866 in Melbourne. Many of their descendants have attained distinction in the fields of
painting, writing, ceramics and architecture.
David's parents, Merric and Doris established the famous Murrumbeena Pottery, which was
unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1926. David is the younger brother of Arthur Boyd.
David began his professional life as a student of music before returning to his parents'
field of pottery. His early exhibitions of pottery were often joint ones with his wife
Hermia, together they were instrumental in setting higher local standards for this craft.
They eventually became known as leading Australian potters, introducing new techniques in
glazing and the use of the potter's wheel in shaping sculptural figures.
Turning to painting, David rapidly achieved great popularity with his romanticised
versions of historical themes from his first exhibition in 1945. He also completed a very
popular series consisting of children, angels and figures dancing and playing.
By 1950, he was exhibiting in most Australian cities and in London. From 1961, he was
represented by the Whitechapel Gallery in London and it was in London that David's work
first won significant international recognition establishing him as a major force in the
art world was established.
In 1969, the Whitechapel Gallery held a retrospective of the works of David Boyd. The
Wagner Gallery in Sydney also held a retrospective in 1983.
David Boyd is represented in most major collections in Australia. This includes the
Australian War Memorial and National Gallery, both in Canberra, and many state and
regional galleries across Australia. His work is also in many private collections
throughout Australia and the rest of the world and is highly sought as an investment. |
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