Friend family papers, 1927-ca. 1985

MLMSS 6305

fonds

1927-1985

Textual Records, Clippings

148691

0.26 metres of textual material (2 boxes) - manuscript, typescript

Donald Friend (1915-1989), artist and author, was born in Sydney, the second son of Leslie Friend and his wife Gwendoline Emily, nee Lawson. His sister Gwen, born in 1923, wrote the memoir, My Brother Donald (1994). A student of Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, Friend furthered his studies and exhibited in England in the mid-1930s. From 1938 to 1940 he was chiefly adviser to The Ogoga of Ikerre in Nigeria. During World War II he served as an artillery gunner and an official war artist. In 1947 he and kindred spirit Donald Murray bought a cottage in the N.S.W. gold mining town of Hill End. Friend's postwar sojourns included spells in England, Italy and Sri Lanka, and from 1967 to 1980 he lived and painted in Bali.

SERIES 1: GWENDOLINE EMILY FRIEND
ca. 1938-1953; Letters received from Donald Friend (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/1 )

SERIES 2: DONALD FRIEND
1937-1938, 1948; 'Letters to & from Negroes', being correspondence (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/1)
1938-1946; 'Africa', being letters received from African correspondents including Alowolodu II, The Ogoga (ruler) of Ikerre (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/1)
1937-1956, ca. 1983; Letters received from, among others, 'Chickadee' and Walter ?, 1950; Wolfgang Cardamatis, 1941, 1952; Patrick Carleton, ca. 1938; Aberdeen Goodwin, 1941; Attilio Guarracino, 1956, date unknown; Aubrey Menon, 1938, date unknown; Henry Tatlock Miller, Redfern Gallery, London, 1954, 1956; James Peisley, 1982; Kenneth Rowell, date unknown; Lelia Suleau, 1937, date unknown; Viscountess Ava Waverley, 1952-1953; and R. E. A. Wilson, 1938-1939 (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/1)
1927-1955; 'Mixed Letters to DLF', being letters received from, among others, 'Appy', 1937, date unknown; Kym Bonython, 1948; Patrick Carleton, date unknown; Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, 1955; George Dunn, 1948; Bert Edgley, 1947; A. E. (Alfred Ernest) Floyd, 1955; Leon Gellert, 1952; Imperial War Museum, 1948; Margaret Olley, 1948; Kenneth Rowell, 1955; Colin Simpson, 1955; Marjorie Wells, The Picture Library (Bellevue Hill, N.S.W.), 1948; R. E. A. Wilson, 1948; and Emile Zinsou, 1938 (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/1)
1938-1947; Letters received from Donald Murray (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/1)
1928-1953; Miscellaneous papers including a MS. copy of the last will and testament of D. L. Friend in Africa, 8 Feb. 1940; literary fragments such as satirical school essay, 'Silence is Golden', 1928; Miner's Right - Hill End, N.S.W. issued to Donald Friend, 7 Feb. 1948; letter from 'Rol' to Moira, 1 Feb. 1953; inscribed envelope: 'To Omar/Best Wishes/Gracie Fields', with enclosed invitation addressed to Prince Omar Ali Chowdhury to hear an address at the London Mosque, 29 Oct. 1949; and papers concerning Motor Cycle Course, ASC School, North Geelong, Feb. 1942 (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/1)
1939; 'Miscellanea/D. Friend/15 Oct. 1939.', being notebook on the Yourba people and their culture (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/2)
1946, date unknown; Notebook, mainly of draft essays and chapters (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/2)
ca. 1930-ca. 1960; Address book (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/2)
1933, 1939; Papers concerning Nigeria, being mainly about bronze castings found at Igbo, including letter received from J. O. Field, 19 Nov. 1939, with his report on this discovery; 'An Intelligence Report on the Ikerre District in the Ekti Division of the Ondo Province' by N. A. C. Weir, Assistant District Officer, 31 Dec. 1933; and MS. notes on the chief priest Olukere (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/2)
ca. 1939-1940, ca. 1985; Foolscap cardboard folder with typed label on cover; 'RICHARD GRIFFIN/(PUBLISHER)', being complete typescript with MS. corrections, ca. 1939-1940, and several pages marked up for printing, ca. 1985, with three pages of printer's type samples. The material relates to African folk culture and Ifa worship. (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/2)
ca. 1985; Rough MS. draft of Art in a Classless Society (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/2)

SERIES 3: GWEN FRIEND
1939-1983; Letters received from Donald Friend (Call No.: ML MSS 6305/2)