Centre for Australian Art

Australian Prints + Printmaking

John Colbourn

Name

John Colbourn

Other names

Colbourn, John Bertram.

Culture

Australian

Gender

Male

Birth date

19 December 1910

Birth place

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia View on map Close map

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Death date

24 January 1945

Death Place

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia View on map Close map

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Occupations

Architect | Photographer | Printmaker

Summary

Worked: Australia (VIC). Linocuts

NGA IRN

18280

Context

Australia

Biography


Born in Ballarat, Colbourn studied drawing at the Ballarat School of Mines, where his interest in art developed. Moving to Melbourne, he studied at Melbourne University gaining his Bachelor of Architecture in 1937. Colbourn began producing linocuts in the early 1930s, and held his first exhibition at Margaret MacLean’s Gallery, Melbourne, in 1937. A second exhibition followed in 1938 at Lodestar Galleries, Sydney. In 1942 he exhibited 33 linocuts, printed in colour, in a joint exhibition with Klytie Pate (who exhibited pottery) at Kosminsky Galleries, Melbourne. An architect by profession, he was an important printmaker and also a keen photographer. [Roger Butler, 2026]

Last Updated

29 Sep 2026