Alan Sumner MBE (1911-1994) was a painter, printmaker, teacher and stained glass designer. After studying at the NGV school, RMIT and the George Bell School in the early 1930s, Sumner travelled to Europe and the UK, furthering his training at the Grand Chaumière and the Courtauld institute. Returning to Melbourne he took up an apprenticeship as a stained glass designer with Brooks Robinson before becoming a designer for Yenckens. He taught painting at the NGV School from 1947 to 1950 and spent nine years as Head of the School from 1953 onward. Meanwhile, over the course of his career he completed approximately 100 commissions for windows in Melbourne and internationally. In 1993 the Eastgate Gallery mounted an exhibition of his technically brilliant screenprints at the same time as the NGV mounted a retrospective of his work. He is represented in most major Australian galleries.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004
© Estate of Francis Reiss
Accession number: 2004.34
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On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
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