Harold Thornton

Harold Leslie Thornton (1915 – 7 April 2005), also known as Harold "the Kangaroo" Thornton, was an Australian artist. He is known for his eccentric personality and for his portrait of environmentalist Bob Brown, titled Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz, which was a finalist in the 1983 Archibald Prize. Four other paintings were finalists in the prize, but he did not gain widespread recognition during his lifetime. He spent several years in Amsterdam in the 1970s, where his mural outside the first Bulldog coffeeshop is still a tourist attraction.

Early life and education Harold Leslie Thornton was born in 1915 in the Sydney suburb of Enfield, the child of Dulcie and Reg Thornton. or magic realist. In 1948 he painted a portrait of actor Roy Rene, which was an Archibald Prize finalist in 1949. He scandalised the conservative citizens of Griffith by painting nude portraits. Thornton moved to Amsterdam around 1970, and then London for a few years, where he painted cartoons. It is also a heritage site protected by the Netherlands National Trust.

Returning to Sydney, Thornton's work was exhibited by the Women's Temperance League and Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In 1945, while living in Griffith, he had a landscape exhibited in the Sydney Art Group show, and his portrait of local identity "Freddie" was accepted for the Christmas exhibition by the Australian Art Society in Sydney.

His paintings were Archibald Prize finalists five times between 1946 and 1983.

Other activities Thornton worked as a professional tap dancer after doing some signwriting, performed on stage as a clown, and created a travelling show with another performer, who was his apprentice sign painter. During this time he also met Errol Flynn.

Personal life Thornton's personality has been described as "exuberant" and "colourful", and he was known for dressing flamboyantly, but fellow artist Dale Trueman described him as also very kind. He found the process of painting comforting, but he was subject to long periods of depression. He once claimed to have died and returned to Earth as a ghost.

Thornton returned to Sydney in the 1980s, where he settled in Darlinghurst. He supported the Greens in their fight to save the Tasmanian wilderness, flying to the island, where he met Christine Milne. He returned to Amsterdam in the early 1990s, taking all his works with him, before returning to Sydney again.

In 1987 Thornton had a lengthy interview with Barbara Blackman, which was recorded and is available online as an oral history.

Death and legacy Thornton died on 7 April 2004, leaving around 200 paintings in his estate. His great-nephew Chris Osborne guards his legacy.

His portrait of Bob Brown hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

His handpainted cardboard suitcase is held by the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, along with a collection of "extraordinary outfits" worn by him.