Harold Freedman

Harold Emanuel Freedman (21 May 1915 – 16 July 1999) was an artist from Victoria, Australia, renowned for his work in public murals.

Information

Harold Freedman received an education at the Melbourne Technical College from 1929 to 1935. In 1936 he worked as a freelance illustrator and cartoonist. During World War II, Freedman enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and ended up being a war artist attached to the Royal Australian Air Force Historical War Records Section, along with Eric Thake and Max Newton. He was able to work as a war artist in 1944 and 1945, in Borneo, Noemfoor and around Australia.[1] His work also featured on magazine covers like New Idea magazine in the 1940s.

In his role as the State Artist of Victoria he created a number of wall murals and floor mosaics in public buildings.

Collections

Collections include:

• Ballarat Art Gallery
• Australian War Memorial, Canberra
• RAAF Museum, Point Cook

Notable works and achievements

• Australian War Memorial (History of Military Aviation murals)
• Melbourne Airport's international terminal (1971 – History of Flight – variously-sized paintings with wing-like sculptural surrounds by Geoffrey Wilkinson)
• State Artist of Victoria (1972); the only person ever so honoured[2]
• Spencer Street station (Cavalcade of Transport mural)
• Geelong Government Offices (Regional History of Geelong mosaic)
• Eastern Hill Fire Brigade Headquarters (The Legend of Fire mosaic)
• Waverley Park (1986) (VFL Legends mosaic)
• Flemington Racecourse (1988) (History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing murals)
• Medal of the Order of Australia (1989)[3]

References

1. "Flying Officer Harold Freedman". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
2. Christopher Allen, "Missing in Action", The Weekend Australian, 6–7 May 2017, Review, p. 10
3. It's an Honour. Retrieved 3 January 2019