Michael Shannon AM (1927 - 1993) was raised on a farm in South Australia and trained in painting at the NGV School and the George Bell School. He was one of a number of artists who studied with Jeffrey Smart in Europe after the war, and he took lessons in Paris from Fernand Léger between 1949 and 1952. Experimenting extensively with the medium of pastel, through the seventies and eighties he produced works in series, including panoramas of cities and suburbs, large canvases of quarries and bushland, and studio interiors. For some years during the 1970s he was Melbourne art critic for The Australian. His work is represented in all major Australian galleries.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Les Rowe 1998
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
© Estate of Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon (age 54 in 1981)
Les Rowe (2 portraits)
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