Halpern Frederick 1909 C 1990s (1 results)

Limited edition engraving and drypoint, 31.7 x 22 cm; 37.8 x 29.5 cm (sheet), signed and numbered (2/25), scattered spotting, the margins a little dusty, small pinprick to the inner margin (not affecting the image), a good, dark impression. Appealing composition of traditional Thai dancers against a background of blossom, a profile study of the headdress and posture at the foot. The artist, Viennese-born Frederick Halpern, studied painting in Vienna and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris "before leaving for Egypt in 1926 on the first of many safaris throughout East and Central Africa. In 1936 during the Italian-Abyssinian war he was arrested by the Italian military on the Abyssinian border, for helping refugees over into the Sudan. At the outbreak of World War II he attempted to enlist in the British army but because of his nationality and former associations, and suspected association with the Haganah (later to become the Jewish Defence Force), he was deported to Kenya and Uganda, and interned with suspected Fascists and Nazis, though himself a Jew. In 1946 he was arrested by Iraki gendarmes in a remote part of Kurdistan, charged with being an agitator and condemned to death; only intervention by the British authorities saw his release. After his arrival in Australia [in the 1950s] he worked as a self-employed artist, explorer and writer. His writing reflects his experiences of over fifty years of travelling into remote parts of the world." (AustLit) His works are held in many Australian public and private collections, including that of the National Gallery of Australia.