By ANNA USHER

Mosman’s most famous son is bringing more than 70 works from four decades home next month in an exhibition focused on his lifelong connection to the lower north shore.

Ken Done: 1980 to now opens on Saturday 7 November and will run for three months, with thousands of visitors expected over the summer.

“Mosman has been part of my life and work for many years, and it is very special to show these paintings here, close to the harbour, beach and garden that continue to inspire me,” Done told Mosman Collective.

“This exhibition is a chance to look back across the years, but also to celebrate the pleasure and energy of painting now.”

The iconic artist, now 86, still works in his Chinamans Beach studio each morning, which the gallery calls “a boundless source of inspiration and pleasure.”

“Rain, hail or shine – we are in the water 365 days a year,” Done told Mosman Collective in a previous interview, “Unless of course we’re travelling somewhere, and then we’re dreaming of taking a dip at Chinamans!”

“We feed the beautiful lorikeets, the magpies and if the tide is right, even a family of bream.”

The exhibition traces the artist’s journey from an early self-portrait to his vibrant current practice, including unseen works that reflect his love of colour, place, memory and the natural world.

“We are proud to present a unique insight into his life as an artist, honouring the depth, generosity and continuing vitality of his practice,” said exhibition curator and Mosman Art Gallery Senior Curator Kelly McDonald.

“Visitors will get the rare opportunity to experience these works in the very community that has shaped so much of Ken’s creative life.”

A Mosman local since 1954.

Done’s Mosman story began in 1954, when his father built a house in The Grove, then nothing more than a dirt road.

“Incredibly, the house is still there,” Done told Mosman Collective.

“I went to Mosman High but left when I was 14 to go to art school. Saying my father wasn’t happy would be an understatement.

“He ran an engineering business, and there were no artists in our family, so it was a true leap of faith,” he said. “Thank goodness it all worked out!”

Since his first solo exhibition in 1980, Done has held more than 100 solo shows across Australia, Europe, Japan and the USA, painted a BMW Artcar and created works for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

He received the Order of Australia (AM) in 1992 for services to art, design and tourism, and has worked with UNICEF for over 30 years.

Closer to home, he has donated significant works to the gallery’s collection and started the Mosman Youth Art Prize in 1988 to “platform young artists and encourage their creative careers”.

Over the same dates, the gallery will also show Tom Roberts’ 1898 painting Curlew Camp, Sirius Cove, Mosman Bay.

How to see it

• Ken Done: 1980 to now, Saturday 7 November 2026 to Sunday 31 January 2027.
• Official opening Saturday 7 November, 11 am to 1 pm.
• Mosman Art Gallery, 1 Art Gallery Way, Mosman.
• Open 10 am to 4 pm every day, and until 8 pm on Wednesdays.
• Free entry.

Got a Ken Done story, or one of his T-shirts from the 1980s still in the cupboard? We’d love to see what you’ve got hiding away! Email Anna at [email protected].

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