Robert Lyall "Alfie" HannafordAM, (born 9 November 1944) is an
Australianrealist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of
Susannah Hannaford.[1][2]
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 (née Hoare), he has two elder brothers (
Ian and Donald) and a younger sister (Kay).[1][3][4]
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.[3] They divorced in 1976.
He returned to South Australia in 1974 living in Riverton, Adelaide,
Kangaroo Island, and from 1981–87,
West Hindmarsh. In 1984 his daughter Aisha was born and in 1987 his daughter
Tsering was born.
Hannaford bought a disused farmhouse and outbuildings at Peters Hill near Riverton and commenced converting them into a dwelling and studio, where he now lives with his wife, artist
Alison Mitchell. They were
married in 2007 and own and operate
Riverton Light Gallery.
[1] and have exhibited in
collaborative exhibitions.
In 2006 Hannaford was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.
On 1 January 2001 Hannaford (of West Hindmarsh) was awarded the
Centenary Medal "For service to the community through art".[5] 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".[6] Also in 2014 he received the Premier's Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Ruby Awards.[3][7]
Hannaford's youngest daughter,
Tsering,[8] 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.[9]
Career
Although self-taught, Hannaford has benefited from the mentoring of South Australian artists
Hans Heysen and
Ivor Hele.[3] 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.[4]
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 2018, 26 of his entries have been finalists in 21 of the competitions, and he has been a three-time winner of the People's Choice Award – in 1992,
1996 and
1998.[3]
"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.[2] In order to keep the portraits together as a group, they were donated to the
Tweed River Gallery.[10]
1998 - Bronze sculpture of
Sir Donald Bradman located in the
Creswell Gardens (adjacent to the eastern entrance to the Adelaide Oval), for Adelaide City Council
2000 - Bob Hawke for the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library, University of South Australia
2001 - The Centenary of Federation 2001 painting, commissioned by the Australian Government
2012 - Bronze sculpture of
Simpson and his donkey, located in the
Angas Gardens (north-east of Creswell Gardens), commissioned by Defence Force Health Services
2013 - Bronze sculptures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial, located adjacent to the
Torrens Parade Ground (
Image)[7]