Francis Lymburner (1916-1972) was a Queensland-born artist who was educated at Brisbane Grammar and took art classes at Brisbane Technical College. Just before the war he moved to Sydney, where he haunted Taronga Park Zoo, making a great number of drawings of animals. In his early twenties he contributed illustrations to the Home magazine. In 1948, Sydney Ure Smith recognized his talent for drawing animals and published a book of his work, after which he achieved some success in Sydney. Throughout the 1950s he travelled and studied in Europe and the UK, living in England from 1952 to 1964, drawing in theatres, zoos and parks. He came back to Australia enthusiastic about exhibiting his work, and Ure Smith published another volume of his drawings and paintings in 1965. However, the following year his career was cut short by a cerebral haemorrhage. In 1992 the AGNSW held a retrospective of his paintings and drawings; his work is held by most major galleries.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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