Robert Hannaford

Family

Hannaford was born and grew up on his family's farm in the Gilbert Valley near Riverton, South Australia, attending Riverton Primary and High Schools. Born to Claude and Vera (nee Hoare), he has two elder brothers (Ian and Donald) and a younger sister (Kay).

In 1960, aged 16, he moved to Adelaide to complete his schooling at Prince Alfred College. He met Kate Gilfillan in 1964. In 1967–68 he studied in Ballarat, marrying Kate in 1968. They moved to Melbourne in 1969 living there for four years, where their two children (Tom and Georgina) were born.

He returned to South Australia in 1974 living in Riverton, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, and from 1981–87, West Hindmarsh. His daughter Tsering was born in 1987. Also in 1987, Hannaford bought a disused farmhouse and outbuildings at Peters Hill near Riverton and commenced converting them into a dwelling and studio. He subsequently bought other properties in the township, including a garage complex.

On 1 January 2001 Hannaford (of West Hindmarsh) was awarded the Centenary Medal "For service to the community through art".

In 2006 Hannaford was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. In 2007 conversion of the garage in Riverton into The Riverton Light Gallery commenced. Also in 2007, Hannaford married Alison Mitchell.

On 9 June 2014 Hannaford (of Riverton) was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) "For significant service to the visual arts as a painter and sculptor". Also in 2014 he received the Premier's Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Ruby Awards.

Hannaford's youngest daughter, Tsering, is also a notable South Australian artist. Like her father, she specializes in portraiture, landscapes and still life, and has been a finalist for the Archibald prize. She became a full-time artist in 2013.

Career

Although self-taught, Hannaford has benefited from the mentoring of South Australian artists Hans Heysen and Ivor Hele. He worked as political cartoonist for the Adelaide Advertiser from 1964 to 1967 (between Pat Oliphant and Michael Atchison), before becoming a full-time artist in 1970.

Primarily known as a portrait artist, depicting the likes of Dame Joan Sutherland, Donald Bradman, Paul Keating, and Bob Hawke, he is also known for his landscapes, still lifes, nudes, and sculptures. He has commented on his portraiture that: "Portraiture is an exploration of character that goes beyond photography. It is an ongoing thing over a long period of time. You get elements of various emotions that can be sensed in the painting."

Hannaford first entered the Archibald Prize in 1991 with a portrait of Hugh Stretton. The portrait was shortlisted, and won the 1991/1992 People's Choice Award. To 2017, 25 of his entries have been finalists in 20 of the competitions, and he has been a three-time winner of the People's Choice Award – in 1992, 1996 and 1998.

"Black Chicks Talking" Project

"Black Chicks Talking" was a project conceived by the actor Leah Purcell and her partner Bain Stewart, and developed by their production company Bungabura Productions. At the invitation of Stewart, in the period 1999 to 2002 Hannaford painted 10 portraits of noted Australian indigenous women to support the project which had been presented to Hannaford as an initiative to raise funds for a mentoring scheme for young indigenous people. In order to keep the portraits together as a group, they were donated to the Tweed River Gallery.

The ten subjects of the portraits are:

Commissions

Other portraits on public display

Recognition, Honours and Awards

Archibald Prize Finalist

Archibald Salon des Refusés