Weaver Hawkins’ pursuit of a singular and personal vision was greatly influenced by his experiences as a soldier during WWI. It was in this war that Hawkins lost the use of his right arm, only having partial use of his left. Travelling extensively throughout Europe, and to North Africa, Tahiti and New Zealand, Hawkins eventually settled in Australia in 1935. He developed a significant public profile in the Sydney art world from the 1940s, and during his lifetime held eight solo shows and participated in 250 group exhibitions.  

Hawkins’ works are built upon dramatic colour contrasts, volumetric forms, and taut compositions that give a great monumentality to his subjects. His observation of light and movement was greatly influenced by Cézanne's technique of mapping the geometry of natural forms through colour, and the modernist concern for the way forms are related to one another in their architectural context. Hawkins’ interest in physicality produced works that balanced figurative and abstract elements in order to express ideas of order and freedom. The work of Weaver Hawkins is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, Australian state galleries, The City Museum and Art Galley in Bristol, The National Gallery in Valletta, and in the collection of The First National Bank of Chicago.

William’s mature style is typified by a vocabulary of spots, dots and dashes; a visual shorthand in which individual shrubs and trees lose their particularity and become simple, spontaneous shapes. His images are among the most recognisable of any Australian artist. 

Williams used print-making, the medium from which his genius would emerge, as a means of capturing the life and lives within London, particularly the musical halls. At the British Museum, Williams studied Goya’s use of aquatint and other tonal techniques. Williams considered print-making a major medium and of equal importance to painting. It was with these works that he established his reputation as a major artist during the 1960s. His success was underscored by the professional recognition he received during this period; four major prizes including the 1966 Wynne Prize, the 1968 publication of the first ever catalogue raisonne of an Australian artist’s prints, and in 1970 a major exhibition of his work alongside that other Great of Australian landscape painting, Arthur Streeton. 

Fred Williams is represented in The National Gallery of Australia, all state galleries, many regional galleries as well as many other public collections throughout Australia and overseas, including the Tate Gallery in London. He was the recipient of many coveted awards including the 1966 and 1976 Wynne Prizes, and his work has been the subject of numerous monographs and exhibitions, including his 1987 Retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria.