Rodney Milgate Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, b. 1934 - d. 2014

Rodney Armour "Rod" Milgate (30 June 1934 – 19 September 2014) was an Australian painter and playwright. He was a Professor of the Visual Arts School of the (then) City Art Institute, University of NSW and newsreader (on the broadcast television Channel 7).

Milgate was considered one of Australia's most influential artists, especially during the 60s and 70s. His work is represented in major collections around the world and he had many solo exhibitions and awards for his work, including the Blake Prize for Religious Art three times. His play, A Refined Look at existence, first presented in February 1968, was described as "An ironic comedy drama which reworks Euripides' The Bacchae, set in a NSW country town. Daring in form, this was possibly the earliest play to capture the emotional turbulence that characterised the 1960s." In 1960, he married Australian actress Dinah Shearing and the couple had two sons. Milgate retired to the Central Coast, north of Sydney, where he died on Friday, 19 September 2014.