Terry Ffyffe: Figurative Painter of Spiritual and Historical Depth Dies at 66

Australian figurative painter Terry Ffyffe, who explored spiritual and historical themes across a career spanning Australia and London, died in 2018. Born in Melbourne in 1952, he studied at Prahran College of Art (now Swinburne University) and later relocated to London in 1979, where he lived and worked for over forty years. His practice combined classical figurative expressionism with spiritual realism and symbolic allegory, influenced by Catholicism, yoga, meditation, and a Buddhist monastery in Queensland. His most notable work, 'Warehouse A' (1996), an eight-foot oil painting from his 'Good and Evil' series, responded to the Bosnian genocide. David Lee, editor of Art Review, described it as symbolising 'everything that has been wrong with this century,' leading to its selection for the magazine's Millennium Edition cover. Ffyffe taught at Fairkytes Art Centre in Hornchurch from 1994 to 2006. His major exhibitions include 'Sunburnt Country' on the Australian landscape, 'The Artist as a Fool… and his Muse,' the 'Passion of Christ' series, and 'Cosmic Art…Painting the Light.' He worked in oil, ink, and graphite, maintaining a disciplined daily practice until his death.