Alan Douglas Baker.
He was the third child of Pearl and Henry Baker of Ashfield, Sydney.
The family recognised that Alan showed the same talents as his
brother Normand and, at 13 years of age, during his days at
Canterbury Boys High, he enrolled to study drawing at J.S. Watkins
Art School. He left Canterbury High two years later to become a full
time art student.
J.S. Watkins school was a fertile ground in which to study and to
nurture young talent because of the competitive stimulus of senior
students such as Henry Hanke, Normand Baker (his brother ) and
William Pidgen who were all Archibald Prize winners.
Great emphasis was placed on tonal drawing in pencil charcoal , pen
and washes and after about 4 years Alan was allowed to paint in oil
colour. He entered a self portrait in the Archibald at 18 years and
it was accepted.
Alan became an instructor at the J.S.Watkins school until he went to New
Guinea.
Commercial Art
As most artists could not make a living from their paintings
they did commercial art. Alan had a thorough grounding in drawing and
was able to have a successful career in that field. He did posters
and 24 sheeters for Tooths Brewery.
One important commission from Tooths was to decorate with paintings,
the dining rooms of the prestigious hotels such as The Greengate
Hotel at Killara, Mansions Hotel at Kings Cross, The Great Southern
Hotel at Newcastle and The Cecil at Cronulla.
An exhibition of Australian Poster Art at the Powerhouse Museum
featured many of Alans works and also two books on Pub Art have been
published. He used himself and members of his family to pose for the
advertisements.
Alan served with A.I.F. in New Guinea from 1943 - 45
They had no positions as a war artist so Alan served with
the small craft (boats) division, he painted portraits of many of the
natives and officers.
Alan married Marjorie in 1946 and settled at Moorebank, on the
Georges River, N.S.W. Tragically, in 1961, two of their three sons
were drowned in a boating accident. Soon afterwards, the family moved
to The Oaks, N.S.W.
The Oaks Years (1961 - 1987 )
Alan built a house , studio , gallery and framing workshop
on 6 acres, which had been a eucalypt forest belonging to the
original Faulding estate. He cleared about 3 acres for gardens ,
fruit trees and ponds.The garden was a rich source for flowers he
used in his paintings.
In 1970 Alan commenced tutoring an informal art group in Camden. He
gave generously of his extensive knowledge, and encouraged his pupils
to have exhibitions. Many have become professional artists, including
his son Gary.
He had a great love of the Australian countryside and enjoyed
travelling in his caravan with his family and dog, visiting the
Flinders Ranges - South Australia, Central Australia, Queensland -
especially Longreach, and Northern and Western New South Wales. On
the south coast of New South Wales, at Gerroa, he had a holiday
house. This was the source for many of his landscapes and
seascapes.
His works are in the New South Wales Art Gallery, the National
Gallery - Canberra, Queensland Institute of Technology, the Hinton
collection at Armidale, and many private and public collections.
He was a Fellow and Vice President of the Royal Art Society of New
South Wales and on its Council for many years. He was also a trustee
of the Marshall Bequest at the New South Wales Art Gallery. Alan was
a member of Camden Rotary Club for eighteen years.
Classical music was one of his passions and together with his
painting, he went into a state of abstraction as he worked.... ART
WAS HIS LIFE.
