Ken Done AM, painter, studied at East Sydney Technical College before becoming an advertising graphic designer. Having achieved great success in this field – he won a Cannes Gold Lion in 1967 – he gave it up to paint full-time in 1980, working from a 'cabin' below his home on Sydney Harbour. Soon, his stylised, colourful representations of Sydney's beaches, harbour, animals and flowers found their way onto placemats, t-shirts, swimwear, bedlinen, mugs and vases; in the 1990s, the walls, ceiling and some furniture in the Garden Restaurant at the Powerhouse Museum were covered with murals by the artist. His crucial role in promoting Sydney as a tourist destination, particularly in Japan, is now widely acknowledged. Until this self portrait was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, no major Australian art museum held an example of his work. His memoir Ken Done: A life coloured in was published in 2016 and his Ken Done: Paintings you probably haven't seen in 2017.
Gift of the artist 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Ken Done
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