B. 1932 - 1983

Peter Upward was a highly celebrated Australian abstractionist and a key figure in the development of lyrical abstraction in Australia. Born in Melbourne in 1932, he studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (1951), the East Sydney Technical College, and later at the Julian Ashton Art School, where he was mentored by influential modernist John Passmore. Upward’s practice was deeply informed by jazz, Zen Buddhism, Eastern calligraphy and the philosophy of artistic process. His early gestural black-and-white paintings are renowned for their raw immediacy and poetic energy, composed of brushstrokes that appear both spontaneous and deeply considered. 

In 1962, Upward relocated to London, where the city’s underground music and cultural scene marked a turning point in his career. While maintaining the fluidity and gestural sensibility of his earlier work, he began incorporating colour, circular canvas formats, and experimental pouring techniques that expanded his visual language. During this period, Upward was recognised internationally when three of his works were included in Australian Painting Today (1963), a major touring exhibition across Europe.

Upward’s work is held in many major collections both nationally and internationally, including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, and Art Gallery of South Australia. His legacy endures as a vital chapter in Australian art of the mid-twentieth century, celebrated for its immediacy, musicality, and quietly radical approach to gesture and form.

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