B. 1890-1964

A leading figure in Australian modernism, English-born Ralph Balson was among the first artists in the country to hold a solo exhibition devoted entirely to abstract art. A house painter by trade—a profession he maintained until his retirement—Balson emigrated to Sydney at the age of 23 and soon began evening classes at the Dattilo-Rubbo Art School.

By the 1930s, he was part of Sydney’s progressive art circles, particularly the group surrounding Grace Crowley, who introduced him to modernist ideals, including Cubism. Balson began experimenting with compositions of geometric abstraction which were characterised by layered planes of colour. At a time when abstraction was still unfamiliar and often unpopular in Australia, he was one of the few artists to persist, helping to establish an Australian school of ‘Constructive Abstraction’—hard-edged geometric forms influenced by European artists such as Mondrian, yet distinctly his own in colour and sensibility.

In the 1950s, Balson’s style evolved once again as he pioneered ‘Non-Objective Painting’ in Australia, adopting a more fluid and gestural approach to abstraction. He is now recognised as instrumental in introducing and sustaining modernist abstraction in Australian art, at a time when landscape and figurative traditions were dominant.

Balson is recognised posthumously as a pioneer of Australian abstraction. His artworks feature in the collections of many Australian public galleries, including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 2024, Balson’s work was the subject of the NGV’s winter exhibition ‘Grace Crowley & Ralph Balson’.

For a more in-depth biography of this artist, click here.