George Feather Lawrence (1901 - 1981)

Biography

1901 Born in Annandale, Sydney
1920s Worked as apprentice in the art department of commercial printers, John Sands & Co, then at Smith and Julius commercial art studios; Studied at the Julian Ashton Art School under Julian Ashton and Henry Gibbons
1926-62 Worked as a commercial designer for Paramount Films Art Department
1929 Married Dorothy Higgins. Rented a tiny cottage in Lane Cove
1932 Purchased house in Cliff Rd, Northwood
1939 Influenced by the Herald Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art, which toured state capitals and included works by Utrillo, Pissaro, Monet, Bonnard and Vuillard
1940 Member of the Northwood Group of painters in Sydney, including Roland Wakelin, Lloyd Rees, John Santry and others
1948 Elected Member of the Society of Artists. Also exhibited with the Contemporary Group
1951-52 Painted and studied in London and Paris; Invited to show at an exhibition of European painters at Leicester Galleries, London
1962 Resigned form Paramount, to paint full-time
1963 Travelled to England and Europe, studying and gathering material for paintings
1968 Painting trip to England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. Followed by successful exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Newcastle
1974 Wife Dorothy died. Travels again to England and Europe. In the following years, made trips to the Flinders Ranges, Tweed Heads, Brisbane, Kiama and Gerringong
1981 Died in Sydney

Selected Exhibitions

1945 First solo exhibition, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1946 Solo exhibition, Finney's Gallery, Brisbane 
1948 First exhibition of the Northwood Group, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1940s & 50s Regular exhibitions with the Society of Artists and the Contemporary Group. Also regular solo exhibitions at Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1963 Leicester Galleries, London
1963 Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
1965 Darlinghurst Gallery, Sydney
1977 Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
1971, 74, 80, 82, 85, 89, 98 Von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle

Awards

1949 Wynne Prize for landscape
1949 Crouch Prize, Ballarat
1950 Bendigo Art Prize

Collections

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
Australian Embassies, Paris, Rome, San Francisco and Brazil
Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
Dunedin Art Gallery, New Zealand
National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Numerous private collections in Australia, England, USA, France, Italy and Holland

Sources:
Jean Campbell, 'George Lawrence', Australian Artist Editions, Sydney, 1980
'George Feather Lawrence: Paintings and Drawings', exhibition list, Von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle, 7-30 Aug 1998 

KR