Historical information

Ken SEARLE (1951- )
Born Sydney, New South Wales

Ken Searle worked on this commission through 1997 and 1998. Further works and sketches relating to this commission are held by the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Searle is a self-taught artist who first exhibited his paintings and drawings in the mid-1970s and is known for large, and often whimsical, paintings, of suburban and industrial areas in several Australian cities.

From 1998 to 2001 Searle worked as a consultant at the school in the Aboriginal community of Papunya, Central Australia.


This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 2000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.

Physical description

Framed painting highlighting the artist's favoured aspects of Ballarat.

Interested with scenes of suburbia for over twenty years, Ballarat is his first portrayal of a whole city. Searle’s view of Ballarat presents a deliberately untidy city seen from a number of viewpoints. Local scenes are portrayed no matter how pretty or garish, the subject matter providing a snap shot in time.

Funded through the Commissions Program of the Visual Arts/Craft Fund, 1998