Design and Art Australia Online

Cutten was a watercolorist and graphic artist. He studied Perth Technical School under J. W. R. Linton and A. B. Webb. He worked as a graphic artist at the Western Mail and won the Western Mail Prize in 1932. In 1933 he, L. Renzow and F. J. Leigh had a three-man exhibition at Newspaper House Gallery. In the introduction by John McLeod they were described as “three young artists resident in Perth. Their efforts have the merit of a right beginning, inasmuch as they represent sincere attempts to fix in artistic terms their impressions of life, colour, and movement as they find them in their daily environment. The show is salted by further essays in imaginative composition and design.” The paintings were hung unframed to allow the purchasers to select frames suitable for their own d_cor.

Cutten’s works were varied, from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to Tugboats. His work was in the spirit of the graphic designers of the times and he was selected to paint the front cover of the Christmas issue of the Western Mail in 1935. Summer Frolic, painted for 1934, was later used as the cover for Tom Hungerford’s 'Stories from Suburban Road’. He became a member of the Perth Society of Artists and a painting of his exhibited in 1939 was described in the following terms: “'Afternoon Clouds’ catches the eye at once as a strong piece of work, rich in colour, strong in composition, and well held together.” He served in World War II and left for New Zealand soon after, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Writers:

Dr Dorothy Erickson

Date written:

2010

Last updated:

2014