Roy Philip Parkinson (3 June 1901 – 9 May 1945) was an Australian artist, known for his watercolour paintings. His works are collected in a number of Australian galleries.
Roy Parkinson was born in Brisbane, Queensland on 3 June 1901 to parents Cyril Parkinson and his wife Jane Silcock. [1] He studied at Brisbane State High School [2] and later studied art at the Brisbane Central Technical College under F. J. Martyn Roberts. He also took lessons from William Bustard and Hubert Jarvis. [3]
Parkinson exhibited his work in Brisbane, [4] Sydney and Melbourne [5] and travelled to Victoria to take in different subjects for his paintings. [6] At an exhibition in 1930, 49 of his works were sold, a record for sales at a private exhibition at that point. [7] One of his works was submitted to the Coronation Exhibition in London in 1937, along with other significant Queensland artists of the period, including Vida Lahey. [8] He was President of the Royal Queensland Art Society in 1934.Archive
Parkinson taught art and was an art critic for the local newspapers. He applied to be a war artist during World War II. [9] The book Praise life and practise art, which was published posthumously in 1946 represented a collection of the transcripts of some of his radio interviews on various topics. [10]
Parkinson married Gladys Ann Canning in 1928. [11] He died 9 May 1945, after suffering from ill health and was survived by his wife. [12]
Parkinson's papers including photographs of some of his work are held in the Fryer Library of The University of Queensland. [17]