Description
Ray Crooke’s landscapes depict island life in the tropical north, neighbouring Melanesian and Fijian Islands. These timeless and beautiful silkscreen artworks capture the tropics’ idyllic stillness and languid lifestyle. Crooke was principally known for his landscapes. He was also a skilled portrait painter and won the Archibald Prize in 1969 with a portrait of George Johnson.
In 1951, he married June Bethel, and the couple settled in Cairns before moving back to Thursday Island. Experience of life in the tropics became an essential element of Crooke’s work. In 1959, he held a successful solo exhibition at Australian Galleries Melbourne. Now highly sought after by major galleries, Crooke chose picturesque Yorkey’s Knob and Cairns as his base.
Ray Crooke’s work hangs in the Cairns Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, all other state galleries, and many regional galleries. His murals grace Australia House in London, and his Painting “The Offering ” from 1971 is in the Vatican Museum collection. In 1993, he was made a member of the Order of Australia for services to the visual arts.
This painting comes from Ray Crooke’s family of friends, who have had one owner for 40 years. They need to downsize, hence the sale of this beautiful painting. The condition is excellent. Original Frame.
