Erwin Fabian (1915-2020) was a sculptor, industrial designer and graphic artist. Born in Berlin, the son of artist Max Fabian, in 1938 he fled Germany for London because he was Jewish. Interned when war broke out, Fabian was sent to Australia on the Dunera and detained at Hay Internment Camp. Here he met Kurt Baier who sat for him. Released in 1946, he joined the Australian Army and was eventually seconded to Army Education in Melbourne, where he produced illustrations and cover designs for army publications. In 1950 he returned to London to work as a commercial artist and as a lecturer at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts. Back in Melbourne in 1962 he commenced his work as a sculptor, exhibiting in state capital cities as well as in London. From 1982 he commuted between Australia and London. Erwin Fabian is represented in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Australian War Memorial, the British Museum, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston.
