Francis Henry Critchley Hinder was born in Sydney, NSW, 1906. He studied under Dattilo Rubbo at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales in 1924 and at the East Sydney Technical College from 1925 to 1927.
He then worked as a commercial artist in the US until 1934, studying at various American art institutes. He married artist Margel Harris in 1930 and taught at the Child-Walker School of Fine Art, Boston, until 1934 when the couple returned to Sydney and Hinder began working in theatre design, advertising and graphic art.
The Hinders were active in the Sydney modern art movement in the 30s and 40s, and with other artists, such as Balson, Crowley and Fizelle, explored the underlying geometry in nature, promoting cubist and futurist approaches to art.
During World War 2, Hinder worked as an instructor and research officer in the Camouflage Wing of the Royal Australian Engineers in Sydney, Canberra, Queensland and New Guinea. The task for him and other artists was to create problems for the enemy with their visual interpretation of objects.
The group applied the parallels between cubism and camouflage to weaponry, using their knowledge of abstraction to conceal and illusionism to deceive. One of Hinder’s first assignments was to conceal giant gas storage tanks from enemy surveillance.
After the war, Hinder taught at the East Sydney Technical College and was head of the Art Department of Sydney Teachers' College from 1958 to 1964.
Frank Hinder had many solo and group exhibitions and his work is held in public and private collections throughout the country. He continued to explore the possibilities of cubism and push artistic boundaries until his death in 1992, aged 86.
Copyright © 2008 Art Nomad. All rights reserved. Click here to view copyright statement
