Graham Burstow
Photographer
ABOUT
Graham S. Burstow
OAM, SAPS, PSQF, FPSA, HAFB, FRPS, PSQA, APSA, FAPS, Hon FAPS, AAPS, EFIAP, ARPS, AFIAP
Born Toowoomba, Queensland, 1927
Graham started photography as a young man of seventeen – introduced to it by his younger brother, Sydney, who had joined the Toowoomba Grammar School’s camera club. Thus began a lifelong passion for the artform and a commitment to its promotion through the photographic society movement – the latter seeing him recognized through the award of an Order of Australia Medal for Services to Photography in Australia in 2004.
Other career highlights of Graham’s include:
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- the staging of his solo exhibition Flesh: The Gold Coast in the 1960s, 70s and 80s and the publication of the related book, both in 2014
- the publication of a book of his prints called Touch Me, in 1998
- his inclusion in a group of six prominent Queensland-based photographers chosen by the Queensland Art Gallery to document aspects of Queensland life for a major exhibition, Journeys North, as part of the bicentenary celebrations 1988
Graham is a life member and Patron of the Toowoomba Photographic Society, of which he has held most offices. In 1962, he became a Foundation Member of the Australian Photographic Society. He is now an Honorary Life Member, Past President, Past Chairman of the Print Division, and still sits on three subcommittees. By submitting his work to exhibitions in more than thirty overseas countries and by being Chairman of six International Exhibitions in Australia, he was able to make use of this knowledge in establishing some of the services now organised in Australia.
One of these was the establishment of the ‘Social Documentary’ category in Australian exhibitions – a type of photography he particularly enjoys. As a result of his exhibition history, Graham is the first Queenslander to have achieved a Fellowship in each of the Australian, British, and American Photographic societies.
Graham maintains a strong involvement in the Photographic Society of Queensland, being a regular lecturer and subcommittee member. He continues to photograph using film and creates prints using silver gelatin.
Collections
Queensland Art Gallery
State Library of Queensland
HOTA (Home of the Arts) Gallery, Gold Coast
Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery
National Library of Australia
Heritage Collection, Toowoomba
Various private collections
Select Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
| 2015 | Flesh: The Gold Coast in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast |
| 2014 | Flesh: The Gold Coast in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Brisbane Powerhouse |
| 2002 | Sometimes a Light, retrospective exhibition. Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery |
Group exhibitions
| 2016 | Journeys North Revisited. Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane |
| 2013 | Icons on Icons. Cobb & Co Museum, Toowoomba |
| 1996 | Power to Move: Aspects of Australian Photography. Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane |
| 1996 | Selected Australian Photographers. Bendigo, Victoria |
| 1995 | Dalby Images: Six Australian Photographers. The Dalby Art Gallery, Queensland |
| 1989 | Selected Australian Photographers. Sichuan, China |
| 1988 | Journeys North. Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane |
| 1983 | Ten Australian Masters Travelling exhibition: Sydney, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Lismore |
| 1978 | Five Photographers, Five Continents. Royal Photoclub Entre Nous, Nevilles, Belgium |
| 1972 | Twenty Australian Photographers. Limousin, France |
Books
| 2019 | Closer. Self published, Toowoomba |
| 2014 | Flesh: the Gold Coast in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. University of Queensland Press, Brisbane |
| 1998 | Touch Me. Top Shelf Productions, Toowoomba |
| 1990 | Christmas in Australia. Edited by Malcolm McGregor. Hutchinson, Sydney |
| 1978 | Australian Photography: a Contemporary View. Edited by Laurence Le Guay. Globe Publishing, Sydney |
| 1976 | Australian Photography. Edited by Laurence Le Guay. Globe Publishing, Sydney |
| 1970 | Camera in Australia. Edited by Allen G Gray. Reed Books, Sydney, for the Australian Photographic Society |
Positions held
| 1988 – | Judge, Heritage Acquisitive Award, Toowoomba |
| 1959 – 90 | President, then Secretary of the Toowoomba Photographic Society |
| 1983 – 84 | President of the Australian Photographic Society |
| 1971 – 81 | Chairman of the Print Division of the Australian Photographic Society |
| 1962 – 74 | Chairman of one National and six International Exhibitions |
Honours
| 2017 | SAPS – Service to the Australian Photographic Society |
| 2013 | PSQF – Fellowship of the Queensland Photographic Society |
| 2006 | FPSA – Fellowship of the Photographic Society of America |
| 2004 | OAM – Order of Australia Medal HAFB – Honorary Associateship of the Federation of Brazil |
| 2003 | FRPS – Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society |
| 1993 | PSQA – Associateship of the Queensland Photographic Society |
| 1992 | APSA – Associateship of the Photographic Society of America |
| 1989 | FAPS – Fellowship of the Australian Photographic Society |
| 1986 | Hon FAPS – Honorary Fellowship of the Australian Photographic Society |
| 1974 | AAPS – Associateship of the Australian Photographic Society |
| 1969 | EFIAP – Excellence of the International Federation of Photographic Art |
| 1967 | ARPS – Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society |
| 1960 | AFIAP – Associateship of the International Federation of Photographic Art |
Prizes, Awards & Grants
| 1997 | Winton Acquisitive Award Ilford/Anitec Award |
| 1996 | Regional Art Development Board Grant, Toowoomba Musswellbrook Acquisitive Award |
| 1994 | Gold Award – Vigex International Exhibition, Geelong |
| 1988 | Gold Award – Sydney International Exhibition Gold Award – Bicentenary International Exhibition, Geelong |
| 1986 | Queensland Art Gallery Grant – Supported by the Commissioning Programme of the Australian Bicentennial Authority |
| 1982 | Caltex Award |
| 1980 | Commonwealth Australia Day Award |
| 1978 | Arts Medal – Royal Photoclub Entre Nous, Belgium |
| 1974 | Commonwealth Medal for Amateur Photography |
| 1964 | Australian Photo Review – Recognition Medal |
PHOTO: Mikaela Burstow 2020