David Rankin was born in Devon, England in 1946. He immigrated to Australia with his family in 1949. He spent his childhood in the 1950’s in the semi-rural Port Hacking region south of Sydney and his teenage years in country New South Wales, from Hay, Wagga Wagga and Albury in the south to Bourke and Brewarrina in the north.
He is a self-taught artist developing his techniques and ideas in the outback towns of his youth. Needless to say he read and was inspired by the great artists from Leonardo de Vinci to Paul Klee. He also read and was influenced by the history of Buddhism and the art of Asia.

In his travels before he arrived in Sydney in 1967 he developed a concept of what he wanted to achieve as an Australian artist. His dream was to express the anima, the life spirit or the essence of God in all nature. To do this he declared that as an Australian artist he could bring the elements of Western Art together with an understanding and love for the cultures of Asia and the Australian Aborigine. He also felt that as Australia was closer to the Orient than Europe it made sense to think about the art of Indian, Chinese and Japanese artists, and that one could not be an authentic articulate Australian artist without a love and respect for the artistic and spiritual expressions of the various Aboriginal peoples and cultures. He felt that any Australian Art had to have a sense of place and that is nowhere better expressed than in Aboriginal painting.

Throughout his career it has been the inspiration of these early insights welded to the visual experience of his life whether outback claypans, the walls of Jerusalem or the deserts of Mexico that has produced so many moving and memorable paintings.
In the past three decades Rankin has held over 100 one-person exhibitions in cities as diverse as Paris, Beijing, New York and throughout Australia. He is represented in many of the world's leading collections and museums. He has been lavishly praised in the New York Times for the power, insight and quality of his work. He was selected as Australia's official representative in the UNESCO Fortieth Anniversary Exhibition celebrations that toured the world's capitals. He has been featured in the Salon I'Mai in Paris and the Chicago Art Fair. Among the many prizes and awards he has been honoured with is the 1983 Wynne Prize, Australia's premier landscape prize. Recently an English-German monograph on his work titled "The Walls of the Heart: The Work and Life of David Rankin" was published by the renowned US critic and art historian Dore Ashton. Ashton is the author of many titles including The New York School and About Rothko. In 2005-2006 a major exhibition of Rankin’s art, curated by Dore Ashton, toured through public galleries in Australia.

In 1989 Rankin moved with his wife, poet, essayist and novelist, Lily Brett to live in New York. From their home in New York they continue to explore both their Australian roots and culture and the opportunities and challenges of an international community.
In his long career Rankin has followed his vision and painted images that have spoken, and continue to speak, his unique vocabulary to people of many countries and cultures.

Selected Individual Exhibitions

1968 Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1969 Gallery One-Eleven, Brisbane, Australia
Watters Gallery, Sydney (Progression Paintings)
1969 Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1970-71 Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1971 Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Macquarie Galleries, Canberra, Australia
Ferguson Galleries, Pymble Presbyterian Ladies’ Colleges, Sydney
1972 Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
1973 Llewellyn Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
1973-76 Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1974 Macquarie Galleries, Canberra, Australia
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
1975 Realities Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Abraxas Gallery, Canberra, Australia
1976 Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Abraxas Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia (Talavera Road Paintings 1975-76 - artist in residence)
1977 Realities Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Abraxas Gallery, Canberra, Australia
1978 Macquarie Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Realities Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

1978-82 Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia (Portraits of Lily)
1979 Macquarie Galleries, Canberra, Australia
1980 Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1982 Miller Gallery, Perth, Australia
Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1983 Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1984 Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1985 Michael Milburn Galleries, Brisbane, Australia
Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1986 Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Michael Milburn Galleries, Brisbane, Australia (Drawings 1968-86)
Chapman Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Jewish Museum, Melbourne, Australia (David Rankin, Drawings and Paintings for the Auschwitz Poems)
1987 Realities Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (The Rocks and Rain Paintings)
Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (David Rankin, Survey Exhibition1965-67)
Milburn Arte, Sydney, Australia (The Colour of the Long Light Night)
David Ellis Fine Art, Melbourne, Australia (The Paintings of Lily)
Galerie Charles Chaneau, Paris, France
1988 Realities Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (The Drowned and the Saved)
Milburn Arte, Sydney, Australia (As long as I am flesh)
1989 Caulfield Art Centre, Melbourne, Australia (An Image of Israel)
Ruggiero Gallery, New York, United States
(David Rankin, The Jerusalem Paintings) [Two separate installations, at 72 Thompson St and 149 Woolster St]
1990 Realities Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (Landscape Paintings)
Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, Australia
Chapman Gallery, Canberra, Australia (Recent Landscape Paintings)
Adrian Slinger Galleries, Brisbane, Australia (Portraits of Lily)
Ruggiero Gallery and Michael Walls Gallery, New York, United States [Installed in the latter space] (David Rankin: Golgotha Paintings)
1991 Michael Walls Gallery, New York, United States (Golgotha Paintings)
1992 Michael Walls Gallery, New York, United States (Lexicon)
Adrian Slinger Galleries, Brisbane, Australia (Paintings 1969-92)
Michael Walls Gallery, New York, United States (Paintings 1991-92)
De Saisset Museum, Santa Clara, University of California, United States (David Rankin: Witness Paintings 1989-91)
Embassy of Australia, Washington DC, United States (Passage and related works)
Michael Walls Gallery, New York, United States (Chicago International Art Exposition)
1993 Margaret Lipworth Gallery, Bocca Raton, Florida, United States
Michael Walls Gallery, New York City, United States
Adrian Slinger Galleries, Brisbane, Australia
1994 James Howe Gallery, Kean College, New Jersey, United States (Passage – Paintings and Painted Vessels)
Michael Walls Gallery, New York City, United States
Editions Southbank Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
Gallery Savah, Sydney, Australia
1996 Troyer Fitzpatrick Lassman, Washington D.C., United States
Embassy of Australia, Washington D.C., United States
Adrian Slinger Galleries, Brisbane, Australia
1997 Robert Steele Gallery, New York City, United States
Chapman Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Olsen Carr Art Dealer, Sydney, Australia
1999 Adrian Slinger Galleries, Noosa Heads, Australia
Art Lunch, UBS Private Banking, UBS Tower, New York, United States
2000 Chapman Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Adrian Slinger Galleries, Noosa Heads, Australia
2001 Centro Cultural El Nigromante, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico
Public City of Cologne Gallery, Cologne, Germany
The Jewish Museum, Vienna, Austria
Charim Klocker Gallery, Vienna, Austria
Ingeborg Wiensovski, Berlin, Germany
University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia (Political Abstraction in the Work of David Rankin)
Adrian Slinger Galleries, Noosa Heads, Australia (Pictures of Lily)
2002 Adrian Slinger Galleries, Noosa Heads, Australia (From Port Hacking to Manhattan)
2003 Adrian Slinger Galleries, Noosa Heads, Australia (Australian Landscapes)
2004 Adrian Slinger Galleries, Noosa Heads, Australia (The Elemental Union Paintings)

2005 Axel Raben Gallery, New York City, United States (Many Rooms)
312 West 118th Street, New York City, United States (Precious Stream; Recent Paintings and Drawings).
Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah, Australia (David Rankin Works: 1967-2004) Touring exhibition
Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Art Centre, Gymea, Australia (David Rankin Works: 1967-2004) Touring exhibition
QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, Australia (David Rankin Works: 1967-2004) Touring exhibition
2006 Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Australia (David Rankin Works: 1967-2004) Touring exhibition
Bendigo Art Gallery, Australia (David Rankin Works: 1967-2004) Touring exhibition
Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (David Rankin Works: 1967-2004) Touring exhibition
Andre Zarre Gallery, New York, USA (Three Crossings: Recent Paintings and Works on Paper)

Selected Group Exhibitions

1974 Ten Years, Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Gifts from Patrick White, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia
1975 Drawings, Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Inaugural Exhibition, The Davenport Gallery, Tasmania, Australia
1976 New South Wales Printmakers, Contemporary Art Society, Adelaide, Australia
1977 Australian Colourists 77, W.A.I.T., Perth, Australia
1980 The Phillip Morris Grant – Australian Art of the Last Ten Years, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, Australia
1981 Survey of the Seventies, Bendigo Art Gallery, Australia
Directions of Post 1950’s Painting, Burnie Art Gallery
1982 The Seventies: Australian Paintings and Tapestries, The National Bank Collection National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
1983 The Philip Morris Arts Grant: Australian Art of the Last Ten Years, Melville Hall, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Romanticism and Classicism in Contemporary Australian Painting, Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria, Australia
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Acquisitions 1973-1983, University Museum, Queensland University, Australia
Figures and Faces Drawn from Life, Heide Park and Art Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1985 Contemporary Approaches to Drawing, Naracoorte Art Gallery
Spring Exhibition, Gallerie Francoise Palluel, Paris, France
Victoria: Views by Contemporary Artists, Regional Galleries Victoria, Australia
Australian Painters, Crane Kalman Gallery, London
1986 UNESCO’s 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Paris, France
Surface for Reflex-tion, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Modern Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne Australia
Painters’ Prints, The Mitchelton Print Exhibition
The Challenge of the Landscape, New England Regional Art Gallery, Armidale
33 Men Painters (The Male Sensibility), Heide Park and Art Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Oz Drawing Now, Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney
1987 Salon de Mai, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Chicago International Art Exposition 1987, presented by Gilian Jason Gallery, London, Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois
Nice Art Fair, Art Productions, Paris, France
Dealers Choice, Noosa Gallery, Queensland, Australia
Arte Production, Charles Charneu Gallery, Paris, France
Australia on Paper, Regional Galleries in association with Michael Milburn Gallery
1988 Bradford Bicentennial Print Exhibition, Bradford, England
Beyond the Mundane, Beijing, China
The 3rd International Art Fair, presented by Realities Gallery, Melbourne, Los Angeles
Salon de Mai, Grand Palais, Paris, France
First Australian Contemporary Art Fair, (Realities Gallery) Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia
Art LA 1988, 3rd International Contemporary Art Fair, Los Angeles, United States
Solo Images – an Exhibition of Monoprints, The Blaxland Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Nature and Technology, The Sannctuary Cove Art Event, Brisbane, Australia
1989 Issues (Drawing), Ruggiero Gallery, New York, United States
Salon de Mai, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Chicago Art Fair, (Macquarie Galleries)
A View of Colour, Gryphon Gallery, University of Melbourne, Australia

1990 Working on Paper, Ruggiero Gallery, New York, United States
Chicago International Art Exposition 1990, presented by Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, Navy Pier, Chicago
The Partnership for the Homeless, Christies, New York, United States
1991 Divinations: Transcendent images from Africa and North and South America, Centre Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Drawings 1991: USA Japan China, Cork Gallery, Lincoln Centre, New York; traveled to Great Wall Gallery, Toronto, Canada and to Japan Arts Gallery, Tokyo
A Tribute to Ian Fairweather, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, Australia
Surface Issues, Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, United States
The Artist, The Printmaker, Editions Southbank Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1991-92 A Wonderful Life, Dooley LeCappellaine, New York, United States
1992 Fourteen Artists – Two Rooms, Michael Walls Gallery, New York, United States
1993 Ten Artists, Michael Walls Gallery, New York, United States
Jewish Australia, The Norman and Sarah Brown Art Gallery, Jewish Community Centre, Maryland
1994 Group Exhibition, AHI Gallery, New York, United States

1995 Up Close: Contemporary Art from the Mallin Collection, Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, New York, United States
Art for Children’s Survival, UNICEF / Sotheby’s, New York, United States
1996 Kouroi & Korai, Summer Biennial, Kouros Gallery, New York City, United States
The Small Painting, O’Hara Gallery, New York, United States
1997 Wynne Prize Centenary Exhibition, The Turkish Bath Museum, Mount Wilson, NSW, Australia
Intimate Universe (revisited), Robert Steele Gallery, New York, United States
1998 Seven Artists, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, United States
Swingtime East Coast – West Coast, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia
Selected Works by Invited Artists, Bulle Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
2002 The Harding Family Collection, University of the Sunshine Coast Gallery, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Selected Public Collections
Australian National Gallery
Queensland Art Gallery
Queensland University
Art Gallery of New South Wales
National Gallery of Victoria
Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery
Art Gallery of South Australia
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Newcastle Art Gallery
Victoria Arts Centre
Festival Hall Adelaide
Alice Springs Art Foundation
Armidale Regional Gallery
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery
Benalla City Art Gallery
Gold Coast Gallery
Philip Morris Art Purchase Grant
High Court of Australia
Jewish Museum of Australia (13 Works)
Jewish Holocaust Centre

Selected Corporate Collections
National Bank of Australia
Westpac
BHP Collection
Comalco
Coles Myer Australia
Equitlink Australia
Clemenger Australia
Palmer Corporation
Hyatt on Collins, Melbourne
Regency Hyatt
Hyatt Adelaide
Sheraton Brisbane
Hilton Brisbane
Hilton Adelaide
Bank of New South Wales

Selected Private Collections
Loti and Victor Smorgon Collection, Melbourne and New York
Holmes A‘Court Collection
Marc and Eva Besen
John Lane Collection
Price Waterhouse Collection

Selected International Collections
Unesco Collection
World Trade Centre, New York (13 Works)
Jewish Museum, New York
Mishkenot Sha’anarum Jerusalem Foundation, Jerusalem
Hamilton Regional Gallery
Sam Pees Collection, Philadelphia
The Cohen Collection
John and Julie Scanlon
James Baker Collection
Reuters (AAP) International
LGI International, London
Allen, Allen & Hemsley
Mallin Collection, New York
Grand Hyatt, Washington (4 Works)
Merc International
Allens, New York
The Bocho Collection, Los Angeles
Nightscape Production, Los Angeles
Numeroff Corporation, New York
Francois Arnal, Paris
Ezekiel Solomon, New York
Rothfield Collection, New Jersey
Dr John Berger, New Jersey
Irwin and Carole Silberberg, New York
Richard Butler, Ambassador to the UN
Dr and Mrs Edward Fisher, New York
Richard Pleple, New York
Casey Collection, Honolulu
Elaine and James D. Wolfensohn Collection, New York

Selected Commissions
Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne. The Scorched Earth, 1984-85, oil on canvas, diptych
Committee for Bosnia, The University of Chicago. A Day for Bosnia, poster
New York Vista Hotel. Oil paintings, large watercolours and ceramics

Selected Bibliography
Brenson, Michael: “David Rankin”, The New York Times, New York City, December 21st 1990; p39
Carrier, David: “David Rankin’s Jerusalem Paintings”, in the catalogue for David Rankin, The Jerusalem Paintings, Ruggiero Gallery, New York City, 1989
Handy, Ellen: “Light of Australia, Walls of Jerusalem”, Arts Magazine, New York City. December 1989 [Vol. 64, No. 4]; pages 51-55
Larson, Kay: “Art”, New York Magazine, New York City, December 17th 1990; p77
Lynn, Elwyn: “Rankin at Macquarie”, The Australian, Sydney; November 1990
Lynn, Victoria: “Balance and Duality in the Work of David Rankin”, Art and Australia, Summer 1996
Sheffield, Margaret: “David Rankin”, Review, New York City, May 1997
Bleiker, Roland: “Political Abstraction in the Work of David Rankin”, Social Alternatives, St Lucia. October 2001 [Vol. 20, No. 4]; pages 3-8, 16-21.
Ashton, Dore: The Walls of the Heart: The Work and Life of David Rankin, Wien: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 2001.
Ashton, Dore: “After the Fire”, David Rankin: Works 1967-2004, touring exhibition catalogue, Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah 2005.
Jeannet, Frédéric-Yves: “From the Heartland to a Hinterland”, David Rankin: Works 1967-2004, touring exhibition catalogue, Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah 2005.
Ashton, Dore: David Rankin – The Crossings Paintings, exhibition catalogue, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York City, October 2006.