Kevin Connor is represented in Australia’s most important galleries and collection. This includes the Australian National Gallery, all state galleries, and many regional galleries. He has also been awarded some of the most prestigious awards, such as the Archibald Prize, the Sulman Prize, and the Dobell Prize for Drawing. He has had over fifty one-person exhibitions in both Australia and overseas.

Connor was born in 1932 in Sydney. At the age of 15 he began as an apprentice commercial artist. During this time he studied painting and drawing at East Sydney Technical College.

Connor’s passion for the life of the city is the basis for most of his work. This began in Sydney, where he painted Newtown terraces, streets in Parramatta and inner city pubs.

In 1954 he left for Europe, and was particularly inspired by what he saw. Urban scenes such as the Gare du Nord in Paris, and the inner-city streets of London, provided ideal settings for him to sketch. He also travelled further through Europe, to America and the Middle East.

On his return to Australia he continued with his well-known series of Haymarket paintings. This inner city area of Sydney provided an ideal setting for Connor. The painting The Kiss, Haymarke,t 1963 is an excellent example of this series. In 2006 the Art Gallery of New South Wales held an exhibition on Kevin Connor; Sketchbooks, Drawings and Studies.