Robert 'King' Crawford 'Champion of the North East' Ned Kelly Painting, 1994

Robert 'King' Crawford (1927–2018) painted Champion of the North East in 1994, oil on canvasboard, part of his recurring Ned Kelly series.

Crawford was a well known figure in the Melbourne art scene, once described as the city's "first Czar of the arts", and developed his own self-coined style he called Mesmeratic Art, an intuitive, untutored approach that sits closer to the international Art Brut tradition than anything institutional. The canvas is built up in thick, sculptural impasto, fiery reds and oranges around a lone figure with arms raised, capturing Ned Kelly's folkloric status from inside the frenzy rather than as a distant symbol, a different register to Sidney Nolan's more famous, cooler treatments of the same subject, a comparison critics made of Crawford's work during his career.

Excellent condition, with wear consistent with age and use. Signed and dated on the verso, with Crawford's own authentication label.

Presented in a custom timber frame, ready to hang. Dimensions: 51cm high, 61cm wide, 4cm deep.

Available to view in our Torquay studio.