Harold Bickford (Hal) HATTAM (b.1913; d.1994)

Hal Hattam was an acclaimed Australian artist, doctor, and passionate art collector, whose career traversed the worlds of medicine and modern art. Born Harold Bickford Hattam in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hattam immigrated to Australia with his family at the age of seven. He established a distinguished medical practice in Melbourne as a gynaecologist but, despite lacking formal artistic training, he cultivated a life-long dedication to painting.

Early Life, Influences, and Artistic Journey

Hattam's entry into the visual arts was initially as a self-taught painter, but his artistic career gained momentum after connecting with the vibrant Melbourne art scene. He became closely associated with leading Australian artists such as Arthur Boyd, Charles Blackman, John Perceval, Leonard French, Fred Williams, and Clifton Pugh. These friendships, particularly his role among the Heide Circle, deeply influenced his art and fueled his passion for modern Australian painting. He also forged close friendships with colour-field abstractionists Dale Hickey and Robert Jacks and leading figurative painter John Brack.

Although medicine was his first vocation, Hattam immersed himself so fully in painting that he temporarily set aside his practice to focus on his creative work. From the early 1960s through the late 1980s, he exhibited widely, with critics—such as Patrick McCaughey—praising his unique interpretations of the Australian landscape. Hattam was not only a painter but also an avid collector, alongside his wife Kate, amassing works by significant contemporaries, notably Fred Williams, whose artistic progression they supported and admired.

Artistic Style and Subject Matter

Hattam was best known for his expressive, atmospheric landscapes—often rendered in oils—that captured both the physical forms and emotive spirit of Australian terrain. His approach balanced structure with lyrical abstraction, evoking the dynamic interplay of land, water, and light. Frequent excursions with artist friends inspired series focused on locations such as Victoria's coastal zones and Queensland’s Fraser Island (K’gari).

The two Hattam works currently for sale at Art Nomad, "No. 8 ESTUARY" (c.1974) and "SHEOAK FRASER ISLAND (Kgari)", are exemplary of his landscape vision.

• "No. 8 ESTUARY" is an oil on canvas depicting the tranquil meeting of river and sea, most likely inspired by Hattam’s time painting along the southern Victorian coastline. The composition’s broad sweeps and layered colour fields convey a contemplative serenity, while the brushwork expresses the rhythmic energy of tidal water.

• "SHEOAK FRASER ISLAND (Kgari)", also created in 1974, reflects Hattam’s fascination with Queensland’s iconic sand island. Sheoaks, with their fine wispy foliage, become a motif for the delicate yet resilient spirit of the Australian bush. The painting captures the interplay between vibrant earth and open sky, using harmonious tones and textural flourishes to communicate the island’s unique ecology and meditative beauty.

Viewed together, these works reveal Hattam’s masterful ability to distil the essence of diverse Australian environments. While "No. 8 ESTUARY" embodies the gentle momentum of waterways and estuarine light, "SHEOAK FRASER ISLAND (Kgari)" dramatizes the contrast between sparse vegetation and luminous air. Both paintings channel a sense of place that is both observed and felt—an enduring hallmark of Hattam’s landscape art.

Legacy and Important Gallery Collections

Hattam held many solo shows, including South Yarra Galleries, Joseph Brown Galleries and Philip Bacon Galleries and participated in numerous group exhibitions from the 1960s onwards, leaving a distinctive influence on the landscape tradition in Australian postwar art. Collectors and critics alike have long valued his contribution for its poetic evocation of locality and atmosphere.

Significant public collections holding works by Hal Hattam include:

• National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

• Australian War Memorial, Canberra

• Various private collections formed during his lifetime and posthumously.

Hal Hattam remains a cherished figure in Australian art—a visionary whose paintings invite viewers to experience not just the land, but a deep sense of place and memory.

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Harold Bickford (Hal) HATTAM (b.1913; d.1994)