Kenneth Jack

For the British chemist, see Kenneth Henderson Jack.

Kenneth William David Jack AM MBE RWS, (5 October 1924 – 10 June 2006) was an Australian watercolour artist who specialised in painting the images of an almost forgotten outback life: old mine workings, ghost towns, decaying farm buildings.

Family

The son of Harold James Jack (1901–1977), and Ethel Gertrude Jack (1892–1950), née Orr,^[1] Kenneth William David Jack was born in Malvern on 5 October 1924.^[2]

His son-in-law Fred Schmidt is also an Australian watercolour artist.

Artist

He became a professional painter at the age of 39 after giving up his job as senior instructor at the Caulfield Institute of Technology, and continued as a prolific painter until his death on the 10th of June 2006.

Recognition

• 1977: elected to the Royal Watercolour Society.
• 1982: awarded the MBE: "for service to the arts".^[3]
• 1987: awarded the Order of Australia (AM): "for service to the arts, particularly to watercolour painting".^[4]

The Kenneth Jack Memorial Drawing Award

The Kenneth Jack Memorial Drawing Award was established in his honour in 2007 by The Australian Guild of Realist Artists. The inaugural winner was Margaret Gurney.^[5]

Collections

Kenneth Jack's works can be found in these collections:

• Royal Collection at Windsor.
• Victoria and Albert museum.
• National Gallery of Australia.
• The Australian War Memorial
• The capital city collections of every Australian state.