George Willoughby Herbert Crowe was born in Brisbane on 18 July 1911 to William Henry Aubrey-Crowe and his wife Dorothy Annie nee Bond (also an artist). Nothing is known of his early career or training but he had some skills and interest in art as he exhibited pastels at suburban venues in such exhibitions as the Kedron Horticultural Society (in 1932) and attend exhibition openings at the only commercial art gallery in Brisbane, Jeanettie Sheldon’s Gainsborough Gallery. He later worked as a commercial artist.
Aubrey-Crowe served as a Staff Sergeant in the Australian Army during World War Two from 1942 and was admitted to the 110th Convalescent Depot after suffering a hernia. He was later deployed to the 3 Australian Facio Max Plastic Surgery Unit, where he specialised in making artificial noses and ears and pre- and post-operative drawings of patients In August 1945 he contributed pastel drawings to an exhibition held by the New Education Fellowship in Brisbane City Hall.
This began a small flurry of activity as he also exhibited three sketches in the annual exhibition of the Royal Queensland Art Society in 1946 (26. Child study 27. Figure study 28. Ballet Study) and two watercolour views of Egg Rock, Numinbah Valley the following year. (30. Egg Rock 31. Egg Rock from Numinbah Valley)
In 1948 he held his first (and possibly only) solo exhibition at John Cooper’s Moreton Galleries in Brisbane. A review withheld the praise for Aubrey-Crowes oil portraits that he gave to his watercolour landscapes commenting:
Bold colour contrasts, in which he is particularly happy in greens and blues, give his wind-swept landscapes a marked touch of individuality. 'Camel Rocks,’ 'Bush Road,’ and 'Green Valley’ are particularly pleasing.
The most significant work he produced appears to be a series of paintings of Queensland native birds which featured on the covers of the Courier Mail Annuals at a time when the Brisbane newspaper commissioned illustrations from well-known Australian artists such as Arthur Evan Read, Donald Friend, Elaine Haxton and Sydney Nolan. The subjects included: 1951, Quarrion; 1952, Sea eagle; 1953, Lorrikeet; 1954, White tailed kingfisher and 1955, Fruit pigeon, North Queensland. In addition, the 1956 edition featured a beach scene with two paintings ‘Headland and Gorge, Point Lookout; Stradbroke Island Beach’ and ‘Upper Barnamapoola Falls; Numinbah Valley’ appearing inside the annual.
Spouse Wilhelmina
- Writers:
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- Date written:
- 2011
- Last updated:
- 2019
