Fred WILLIAMS   1927  - 1982

Born in Melbourne in 1927, Fred Williams projected a new, fresh and inspired vision of the Australian bush landscape. He studied under William Dargie at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School from 1944 – 1949, and in 1951 travelled to London where he studied at the Chelsea Art School 1951-5 and completed an etching course at the Central School of Arts 1954-6. The emergence of a personal vision in paintings from this period became more evident after his return to Melbourne in 1957, and to the subject that would occupy his energies, the Australian landscape. Williams’ perspective of the landscape evolved from a European- influenced formalism to an expressive, highly personal view of the subject. Through the use of a basic form of opposing vertical and horizontal lines, a dramatic sense of scale and with an intricate array of gestures of paint which are abstract yet also contain representational elements, Williams expanded the treatment of the landscape in Australian painting.

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