About Henry Hanke
Lived 1901 – 1989 (aged 87–88). Henry Hanke was an Australian painter.
Henry Aloysius Hanke (14 June 1901 – 29 September 1989) was born in Sydney in 1901. He was an Australian painter and teacher, who won the Archibald Prize in 1934 with a self-portrait, and the inaugural Sulman Prize in 1936 with his painting La Gitana.
Hanke served in the Army during World War II from November 1942, initially as a Signaller and later commissioned as an Officer and war artist from December 1943, during which he completed many paintings in New Guinea. He was the first war artist into Milne Bay after the Australians inflicted the first defeat on Japanese troops during World War II. Hanke was later made a director of the Royal Art Society art school.
Hanke was a friend of Sydney artists Graeme Inson and Ivy Shore, and often visited them. Hanke was one of the five artists Ivy Shore (winner of the Portia Geach Memorial Art Award in 1979) called her "Inspirations". Ivy Shore's painting of these five artists, titled "Inspirations", now hangs in the Dundee Arms Hotel in Sussex Street, Sydney, which was Graeme Inson and Ivy Shore's studio in the 1970s and 1980s.
His daughter Sonya became a pianist and music educator.
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Important facts
People in Henry Hanke's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Henry Hanke's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Henry Hanke?
Australian painter (1901-1989)
When was Henry Hanke born?
Henry Hanke was born in 1901 in Sydney.
When did Henry Hanke die?
Henry Hanke died in 1989 in Sydney.
What was Henry Hanke's occupation?
Henry Hanke was a painter.
What nationality was Henry Hanke?
Henry Hanke was Australian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Henry Hanke. https://biography.guide/henry-hanke/
MLA: "Henry Hanke." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/henry-hanke/.
Chicago: "Henry Hanke." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/henry-hanke/.
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