Born in London in 1920 into a family linage of journeymen tailors to royalty on his mother’s side and a horse rustler turned antique dealer with a passion for painting on his father’s side. With the death of his mother, Raymond from age two, spent his childhood as an orphan before coming to NSW Australia in 1939 through a youth immigration scheme. In 1940 he joined the WW2 Australian infantry. At 21 he was amongst Australia’s deadliest jungle fighters against the Japanese on the Malay peninsula before the Allies’ surrender, after which he spent four long years as a POW in Changi and on the Burma railway. Here he learnt to paint and draw and remarkably kept diaries dotted with emotive drawings.
Moult-Spiers entered the art scene in Sydney immediately after his discharge from the military hospital in 1946. He married Elma Mackay Gibson, an older woman and was soon living and working in his studio behind the Horsley Park Post Office where he was the Post Master. In 1946 he exhibited his semi abstracts with the “Contemporary Art Society”. From here he dipped in and out of the Sydney art scene first as a student of art at East Sydney Technical College as part of the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme, devised for returned soldiers, and operating from 1947 to 49. Here the ex-service people were said to be especially dynamic in their making up for lost time.
By 1950 Ray Moult-Spiers was a foundation member of the City of Parramatta Art Society.
In 1953 he held a solo exhibition in the David Jones Walk Gallery, Sydney, which was pre-announced with a full colour two-page spread in the February edition of the popular “Australian Magazine” called “A.M.”, written by the acclaimed writer, Herbert Hull. The press reviewers defined his solo show of 52 works with terms like ‘Fantasy’, one even suggesting Walt Disney as a possible destination. Reviewer James Gleeson too described Moult-Spiers’ surrealist work as “watercolour fantasies”.
In January 1956, Moult-Spiers left Australia for a work trial with Walt Disney as a Fantasy artist no less. He was away for a year, but as his wife was not permitted to stay in the USA, by 1957 Raymond was back in Horsley Park. His work was again receiving press, this time with an image printed in the “Parramatta and Hills News”, January 5th 1957, announcing he had been studying painting overseas. Raymond exhibited with a group of five young contemporary artists in a show which was very much about ‘anti-art school’ and in a Dadaist move exhibited at the CWA Rest Rooms, Fairfield.
In 1961 he won the “City of Parramatta Art Prize” with his painting titled “The Mourners”, purchased by the Parramatta City Council, and still in their collection today. In 1962 he won the “City of Parramatta Contemporary Art Prize”.
In 1962 Raymond was not only part of the biggest nationwide organisation for modern painters, architects, sculptors, designers and creators in plastic arts, ever; he was on the executive committee. The new “Australian Art Associates” was the first of its kind and as a national concern addressed the need for original works of art to be presented at all major centres throughout Australia. It indeed claimed to be the biggest organisation in the Commonwealth. “The Cumberland Argus” picked up the story on May 9th and in bold text cited “artist Raymond Moult- Spiers, winner of the Parramatta Council’s special contemporary art award” as one of the new organisation’s executives.
In October 1964, Moult-Spiers and Collinridge Rivett held a two-man show at the Penthouse Gallery, Church Street, Parramatta. It was opened by the University of Sydney Archivist with proceeds going to the International House Appeal through both the University of NSW and the University of Sydney. The write up describes Moult-Spiers as being “recognised as one of Australia’s most creative and original contemporary painters.”
Raymond Moult-Spiers and his wife moved to Stradbroke Island in 1970, where his wife died suddenly in 1977. Raymond continued painting eventually becoming a recluse until his death in 1995. His last exhibition was on the Island in 1994. He is survived by two of his children to another relationship.
- Writers:
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- Date written:
- 2020
- Last updated:
- 2020
