Sepik River illustrated field diary and illustrated manuscripts for ‘Kakadu and the Arnhem Landers’ and ‘Sepik Diary’ by Frank Hodgkinson

MLMSS 12061/Boxes 1X-3X

fonds

1977 and 1985

Graphic Materials, Drawings, Textual Records, Paintings

9671059

1.37 metres of textual material (3 volumes in outsized boxes), includes drawings and paintings

Frank Hodgkinson (1919-2001) was an artist born and trained in NSW. He attended Fort Street High School, after which he studied at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales under Dattilo Rubbo. He served as an official war artist in WWII, spending time in the Middle East, North Africa, New Guinea and Borneo. After the war he spent time working and exhibiting in Europe. In 1958 he won the inaugural Helena Rubinstein Travelling Art Scholarship which he used to take up residence in Spain. He moved back to Australia in 1971 and eventually built a house in Kenthurst, Sydney.

In 1976 he judged an art award in Port Moresby and in 1977 was asked to spend time as an artist-in-residence at the National Art School at the University of Papua New Guinea. It was at this time that he completed the fieldwork and research for what would become his 1982 published work ‘Sepik Diary’.

After a meeting with Dr Colin Jack-Hinton in the late 1970s, then Director of Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Hodgkinson conceived of the idea of a yearly ‘artists-in-the-field’ camp program. This would immerse artists in the Northern Territory landscapes and contribute to the permanent collections of the Northern Territory art gallery. Hodgkinson made annual trips to Kakadu and Arnhem Land until 1987, under this program, completing the fieldwork for what would become his 1987 published work ‘Kakadu and the Arnhem Landers’.

He became a Member of the Order of Australia in 1999 for services to the visual arts and travelled frequently until his death in 2001.

Hodgkinson's works include paintings, sculptures, etchings and drawings and are represented in institutions such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria and National Gallery of Australia.

References:
Library acquisition file
Frank Hodgkinson. "Bio". Accessed 24 November 2023. https://www.frankhodgkinson.com/bio.html

3 volumes by artist Frank Hodgkinson.

BOX 1X
Sepik River illustrated field diary.

BOX 2X
Original illustrations and handwritten text for the book ‘Sepik Diary’. ‘Sepik Diary’ was based on a diary of a 7-day boat trip taken in 1977 along the Sepik basin and features predominantly pen and wash illustrations of tribal art, spirit houses and local flora and fauna, as well as detailed handwritten observations.

BOX 3X
Original illustrations and handwritten text for the book ‘Kakadu and the Arnhem Landers’ published in 1982. It features predominantly pen and wash illustrations and detailed handwritten observations of the people, artefacts, landscapes, ceremonies and flora and fauna of the region. Places visited were: Ratuwati Yinjara (Bathurst and Melville Islands), Cobourg Peninsula, Burrunguy (Nourlangie Rock), Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) and Ubirr (Obiri Rock), Nauwalabila (Deaf Adder Gorge), Barrkmalam (Jim Jim) and Bilk Bilmi, Weyirra and Warruwi (Goulburn Islands), Nhulunbuy (Gove Peninsula).

English, German

The Library also holds published versions of Sepik Diary (RB/Q546, Q919.5304/2 and Q919.5304/6) and Kakadu and the Arnhem Landers (Q994.2950049/7)
Readers should be aware that this material contains images or documentation relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are deceased.