While Francis Lymburner may not be a household name, he is regarded by many experts as one of Australia's finest artists. He was an exceptional draughtsman, and a very able painter. His paintings and drawings of dancers, actors and animals are characterised by extraordinary facility and graceful sensuality. Never routine, Lymburner's work is always passionately executed. His emotional range is considerable - while some of the figure paintings verge on the erotic, others demonstrate an unnerving ability to render human frailty and vulnerability. The Brisbane-born artist came to Sydney in 1939, where he established a reputation as a very talented artist. From 1952 until 1964 he was based in London where he spent countless hours visiting the music halls and theatres which provided him with so much of his subject matter. Francis Lymburner is represented in the national and most state galleries. In 1993 the Art Gallery of New South Wales organised a Lymburner retrospective exhibition.