Hugh Sawrey was born in Forest Glen, Queensland, in 1919. He had no formal art training, but after a day of droving cattle, painted at night around the camp fire.
Sawrey is arguably one of Australia’s greatest outback painters and undoubtedly one of the best ever painters of the horse. In 1979, he was selected as one of two Australian artists to represent Australia in “The Horses of the World” exhibition at the Tryon gallery, London, the world’s foremost sporting gallery.
Sawrey was also the founder and a former chairman of the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame at Longreach.
He painted the Australian bush to show the townsfolk what went on beyond the big city lights. His very personal landscapes depict the character and characters of regional Australia, often examining the spirit of mateship with great honesty.
Many of Sawrey’s works were in the small town of Kogan on the Darling Downs, as he often painted murals on local buildings to pay his bills. He first visited the town after he returned from World War II, seeking work on cattle stations. In Kogan, he found encouragement for this art as well as inspiration from the rural area. He painted murals for the lounge of the Kogan Hotel and the ceiling of the Kogan post office.
Sawrey lived for most of his life in central and western Queensland, but moved to a Victorian property in 1978. He was awarded a CBE in 1989 for his services to art and died in 1999, in Benalla, Victoria.