Alexander George Gurney
| Alex Gurney | |
|---|---|
.jpeg)
Alex Gurney in 1939
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| Born | 15 March 1902 Stoke, Devonport, UK. |
| Died | 4 December 1955 (aged 53) Elwood, Victoria |
| Nationality |
 British |
| Area(s) | Caricatures, Cartoons, Comic Strips |
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Notable works
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Ben Bowyang, Bluey and Curley. |
| Spouse(s) | Junee Grover (m. 16 June 1928) |
Alexander George "Alex" Gurney (15 March 1902 – 4 December 1955) was an Australian artist, caricaturist, and cartoonist born at Pasley House, Stoke, Devonport (now Stoke, Plymouth), England.
He was the son of William George Gurney and Alice Birdie Gurney (née Worbey), who had married in Portsmouth on 29 May 1901. He was born on 15 March 1902 at Pasley House, Stoke, Devonport (now Stoke, Plymouth), England.
His father and his mother, who was an Australian, born in Hobart, moved with Alex and settled in Hobart, Tasmania. Soon after the ship upon which his father, a steward in the merchant navy, was serving, went missing at sea; and his father was presumed dead. On 2 July 1908 his mother (always known as Birdie, rather than Alice) married again, to James William Albert Hursey (1866–1946).
Alex Gurney married Junee Grover (1909–1984) on 16 June 1928 at Christ Church, South Yarra. Junee was the daughter of the journalist Montague "Monty" MacGregor Grover (1870–1943) and Ada Goldberg.
Alex and Junee Gurney had four children, John (1929–), Jennifer Anne (1932–2004), Susan (1937–), and Margaret (1943–), the eminent Melbourne artist.
Gurney was educated at Macquarie Street State School, where his prowess with a pencil soon became evident, regaling his classmates with caricatures of their faces perched atop incongruous bodies. Leaving school at age 13, he found employment at an ironmonger's shop, followed by a couple of other jobs, before embarking on an electrical apprenticeship with the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Commission, in the expectation of becoming an electrical engineer. This entailed taking night classes at Hobart Technical College, but it was not long before his attention was drawn to art classes conducted at the same institution by Lucien Dechaineux (1869–1957).
As well as significantly embellishing his wonderful graphic skills as an artist, his exceptional capacity for the observation of his fellow humans also allowed him to successfully perform as an impersonator of well known people.
By 1918 he was submitting work to The Bulletin, Melbourne Punch and Smith's Weekly.
In 1923, he was awarded first prize at the Kingborough Agricultural Show for "an original pencil drawing".
Australian cartoonist, Alex. Gurney, whose work
has gained international reputation possesses
what is probably the most travelled, and historic
drawing board in the Commonwealth. Originally,
it was a panel of a cedar door in the now
demolished "Old Bell Hotel", Elizabeth Street,
Hobart. The door which marked the entrance to
a room in which Marcus Clarke is supposed to
have written "For the Term of his Natural Life"
was bought at an auction sale, the panel-
drawing-board being later presented to the
then burgeoning artist. Mr. Gurney has been in
many parts of Australia and the thousands of
drawing-pin holes tell a story of their own…
...
Wikipedia