Murray Griffin

Vaughan Murray Griffin (1903–1992) was an Australian print maker and painter. Commonly known as Murray Griffin, he was born in Malvern, Melbourne, Victoria to parents Vaughan and Ethel Griffin. Griffin spent most of his life living in the Eaglemont and Heidelberg area in Melbourne although he travelled around country Victoria to paint and draw. Although Griffin produced an extensive body of landscape paintings as well as portraits, he is best known for his printmaking where he was heavily influence by Japanese woodcuts. A number of these prints are discoverable on the National Gallery of Australia database.

Griffin trained at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne from 1919 to 1923. A highly respected teacher, Griffin taught at art at Scotch College (1936–1937) and drawing and teaching at RMIT (1937–1940).

He was appointed an official war artist in 1942. He was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore and sent to Changi prison where he was incarcerated for over three years. He continued to draw, sketch and paint during this period and the Australian War Memorial holds an extensive collection of his work. Griffin returned to homeland Australia in 1945.

From 1946 - 1953 he was a teacher of drawing at the National Gallery Victoria School and then he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Art at RMIT from 1954 - 1968.

Throughout his life, Griffin was heavily influenced by the Anthroposophy and the teachings of Rudolph Steiner. His passion resulted in a body of oil paintings and linocuts known as the Journey Series. This collection is currently held by LaTrobe University.

Represented:National Gallery of Australia, Australian War Memorial, National Gallery of Victoria, State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Library, Art gallery of South Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of South Australia, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Bendigo Art Gallery, Warrnambool Art Gallery, Geelong Art Gallery, Hamilton Art Gallery, Print Council of Victoria, The Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, LaTrobe University, Australian Embassy Washington

Prizes and Awards: 1923 - First prizes National Gallery School for Painting and Landscape painting 1935 - Crouch prize for the oil painting "Golden Barriers" 1939 - F. E. Richardson prize for the linocut "Spoonbill" 1952 - Dunlop Prize (joint 2nd) for the oil painting "Warrior" 1957 - Maude Vizard-Wholohan Prize Art gallery of South Australia for the linocut "Bird of Paradise" 1976 - Henri Worland Memorial Art Prize Warrnambool Art gallery for the linocut "Duck in Reeds" 1990 - Awarded Victorian Artists Society Honour Medal for "outstanding contributions to art"

External links

• Artist profile at the Australian War Memorial