Fred Cress

Fred Cress was a British born painter who migrated to Australia when he was a young boy. He spent some of his younger years in India where he was born and so had a very interesting and varied life.

In 1948, when Fred was just ten years old the family moved back to England. He spent the next few years going to school and then onto the Birmingham College of Art. In 1962, at just 24 years old, Fred migrated to Australia as a “ten pound Pom”.

Cress met the painter Anne Judell and married her in 1967; they divorced in 1991.

He started his career painting figuratively but became well known for his abstract work in the late 60s and 70s. In 1988 he won Australia’s most famous portrait price, the Archibald with a portrait of John Beard.

He returned to figurative painting in the late 80s after he won the Archibald Prize Fred Cress was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003 for services to visual arts.

Fred Cress Died on 14th October 2009 and continued to practice his love of the arts right till the very end, with his last exhibition entitled ‘End Game One’!

His work remains highly revered with many great works in numerous collections around the world. His playful, cheeky and insightful art will always remain timeless.