John Winch
, 1944 - 2007
John Winch was an Australian artist, illustrator, and writer of children’s books. Born in Sydney, he attended Sydney Teacher’s College, the National Art School, and the College of Fine Arts. Prior to becoming a full time artist, he worked as a teacher both in England and Australia, and as an industrial designer. During his lifetime he held more than 80 solo exhibitions in Australia, as well as exhibiting work at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His paintings feature in many Australian university collections, public and government buildings, including Parliament House in Canberra, and have received numerous art awards.
He wrote and illustrated a number of children’s books, and collaborated with a range of Australian writers, including Ursula Dubosarsky and Patricia Hooper, to illustrate others. His work reveals an enduring engagement with art history and traditions of representation, both in an Australian and international context. The Old Man Who Loved to Sing (1993) and The Old Woman Who Loved to Read (1996) both celebrate the Australian bush, while Run Hare Run (2005) imagines the story behind the creation of Albrecht Durer’s painting The Hare. His contribution to the field of children’s literature was recognised in 2002 when he was made the May Gibbs Fellow in Children’s Literature at the University of Canberra. He died in 2007.
Bio prepared by Miriam Riverlea, University of New England, mriverlea@gmail.com
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