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==Career==
==Career==
In 1923, Trompf began designing confectionery boxes and wrappings for Giles & Richards, a Melbourne firm of commercial artists,<ref name="ADB"/>before setting up his own studio in Little Collins Street, painting and designing thousands of advertising posters, usually of 25 ins by 40 ins (64 cm by 102 cm) format, and 24-sheet advertising hoardings, for which Trompf supervised all stages of production, including the lithographic printing. Clients included [[Bryant & May]], [[Palmolive (brand)|Palmolive]], the magazine ''[[Walkabout (magazine)|Walkabout]]'', the [[Australian National Travel Association]], the [[Victorian Railways]]<ref name="ADB"/> and the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]].<ref>{{Citation | author1=Trompf, Percy | title=Banff : Canadian Pacific Railway | publication-date=1930 | publisher=J.E. Hackett, print | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/220800743 | accessdate=30 January 2020 }}</ref>
In 1923, Trompf began designing confectionery boxes and wrappings for Giles & Richards, a Melbourne firm of commercial artists,<ref name="ADB"/>before setting up his own studio in Little Collins Street, painting and designing thousands of advertising posters, usually of 25 ins by 40 ins (64 cm by 102 cm) format, and 24-sheet advertising hoardings, for which Trompf supervised all stages of production, including the lithographic printing.
By 1933 Trompf was well-known as a poster artist and clients included [[Bryant & May]], [[Palmolive (brand)|Palmolive]], the magazine ''[[Walkabout (magazine)|Walkabout]]'', the [[Australian National Travel Association]], the [[Victorian Railways]]<ref name="ADB" /> and the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]].<ref>{{Citation | author1=Trompf, Percy | title=Banff : Canadian Pacific Railway | publication-date=1930 | publisher=J.E. Hackett, print | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/220800743 | accessdate=30 January 2020 }}</ref>


In May 1942 he enlisted in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] and was commissioned as a pilot in June.<ref name="ADB" /> Trompf served mostly at [[Milne Bay]], Papua New Guinea, and worked as a camouflage officer.<ref name="ADB" /> He was demobilized in February 1948, with the rank of flying officer.<ref name="ADB" />
In May 1942 he enlisted in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] and was commissioned as a pilot in June.<ref name="ADB" /> Trompf served mostly at [[Milne Bay]], Papua New Guinea, and worked as a camouflage officer.<ref name="ADB" /> He was demobilized in February 1948, with the rank of flying officer.<ref name="ADB" />


==Reception==
==Reception==
The colour lithography that Trompf used produced bright, appealing simplified realism with wide appeal, especially during the [[Great Depression]]. In recent evaluations, Dann<ref>{{Citation | author1=Dann, Graham | title=The language of tourism : a sociolinguistic perspective | publication-date=1996 | publisher=CAB International | isbn=978-0-85198-999-0 }}</ref> and Barnes<ref>Barnes, Jillian E., ‘Resisting the captured image: how Gwoja Tjungurrayi, ʻOne Pound Jimmyʼ, escaped the ʻStone Age.ʼ’​ In {{Citation | author1=Hannah, Mark, (editor.) | author2=Macfarlane, Ingereth, (editor.) | author3=ANU E Press | title=Transgressions : critical Australian indigenous histories | publication-date=2007 | publisher=ANU E Press and Aboriginal History Incorporated | isbn=978-1-921313-43-1 }}</ref> tourism marketing professionals including Trompf created a visual language of modernity, promotion and consumerism. Barnes cites Trompf’s Commonwealth Railway poster as applying an American aesthetic in depicting Central Australia in which North American pueblos are replaced with Australian indigenous ‘[[Arrernte people|Arunta]]' men and juxtaposed modern, white, explorers-cum-tourists with 'primitive natives’ men each in formulaic groupings, positions and postures; the colonial figures and their vehicles given centre and stage right to symbolise the future while Aboriginal men are diminished in scale and backgrounded to represent their servility and symbolic position in the past.
The colour lithography that Trompf used produced bold, simplified realism in an Art Deco style, with wide appeal, especially during the [[Great Depression]]. They promoted the simple joys of sun-worship, surfing and bushwalking, which were both then becoming popular alongside a general interest in bodily fitness then pervasive with the young, famously celebrated in Trompf's best-known poster simply titled ''Australia.''<ref>{{Citation | author1=Kerr, Rosemary | title=Roads, tourism and cultural history : on the road in Australia | publication-date=2019 | publisher=Channel View Publications | isbn=978-1-84541-668-3 }}</ref>
In recent evaluations, Dann<ref>{{Citation | author1=Dann, Graham | title=The language of tourism : a sociolinguistic perspective | publication-date=1996 | publisher=CAB International | isbn=978-0-85198-999-0 }}</ref> and Barnes<ref>Barnes, Jillian E., ‘Resisting the captured image: how Gwoja Tjungurrayi, ʻOne Pound Jimmyʼ, escaped the ʻStone Age.ʼ’​ In {{Citation | author1=Hannah, Mark, (editor.) | author2=Macfarlane, Ingereth, (editor.) | author3=ANU E Press | title=Transgressions : critical Australian indigenous histories | publication-date=2007 | publisher=ANU E Press and Aboriginal History Incorporated | isbn=978-1-921313-43-1 }}</ref> tourism marketing professionals including Trompf created a visual language of modernity, promotion and consumerism. Barnes cites Trompf’s Commonwealth Railway poster as applying an American aesthetic in depicting Central Australia in which North American pueblos are replaced with Australian indigenous ‘[[Arrernte people|Arunta]]' men and juxtaposed modern, white, explorers-cum-tourists with 'primitive natives’ men each in formulaic groupings, positions and postures; the colonial figures and their vehicles given centre and stage right to symbolise the future while Aboriginal men are diminished in scale and backgrounded to represent their servility and symbolic position in the past.

The nostalgic attraction of Trompf's posters endures, and they fetch up to $A12,000 at auction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.invaluable.com/artist/trompf-percy-k2wg9l0dxo/sold-at-auction-prices/|title=Percy Trompf Paintings & Artwork for Sale {{!}} Percy Trompf Art Value Price Guide|website=www.invaluable.com|access-date=2020-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.joseflebovicgallery.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&orderBy=relevance&category_id=0&keywordsField=Percy+Trompf|title=Percy Trompf at Joseph Lebovic Gallery|last=www.bibliopolis.com|first=|date=|website=Josef Lebovic Gallery|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-01-30}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==

Revision as of 01:02, 30 January 2020

Australia lithograph, c.1929, designed by Percy Trompf

Percival Albert Trompf (1902-1964), was an Australian commercial artist, best known for his travel posters. Some of his most popular designs depicted historical events, including the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.[1]

Early life

Percival Albert Trompf was born on 30 May 1902 in Beaufort, Victoria, the ninth child of Henry Alexander Trompf, a fruiterer, and his wife Catherine Amelia, née Elliott.[2] His family later moved to Ballarat, and he was educated at Sebastopol Primary School before becoming one of the earliest students at the Ballarat School of Mines' Ballarat Technical Art School where he left with his certificate in 1917.[2][3]

Career

In 1923, Trompf began designing confectionery boxes and wrappings for Giles & Richards, a Melbourne firm of commercial artists,[2]before setting up his own studio in Little Collins Street, painting and designing thousands of advertising posters, usually of 25 ins by 40 ins (64 cm by 102 cm) format, and 24-sheet advertising hoardings, for which Trompf supervised all stages of production, including the lithographic printing.

By 1933 Trompf was well-known as a poster artist and clients included Bryant & May, Palmolive, the magazine Walkabout, the Australian National Travel Association, the Victorian Railways[2] and the Canadian Pacific Railway.[4]

In May 1942 he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and was commissioned as a pilot in June.[2] Trompf served mostly at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, and worked as a camouflage officer.[2] He was demobilized in February 1948, with the rank of flying officer.[2]

Reception

The colour lithography that Trompf used produced bold, simplified realism in an Art Deco style, with wide appeal, especially during the Great Depression. They promoted the simple joys of sun-worship, surfing and bushwalking, which were both then becoming popular alongside a general interest in bodily fitness then pervasive with the young, famously celebrated in Trompf's best-known poster simply titled Australia.[5]

In recent evaluations, Dann[6] and Barnes[7] tourism marketing professionals including Trompf created a visual language of modernity, promotion and consumerism. Barnes cites Trompf’s Commonwealth Railway poster as applying an American aesthetic in depicting Central Australia in which North American pueblos are replaced with Australian indigenous ‘Arunta' men and juxtaposed modern, white, explorers-cum-tourists with 'primitive natives’ men each in formulaic groupings, positions and postures; the colonial figures and their vehicles given centre and stage right to symbolise the future while Aboriginal men are diminished in scale and backgrounded to represent their servility and symbolic position in the past.

The nostalgic attraction of Trompf's posters endures, and they fetch up to $A12,000 at auction.[8][9]

Personal life

On 14 May 1932, Trompf married Vera Johns at the Methodist Church, Armadale, Victoria, Melbourne, and they had two daughters.[2][2]

Trompf died of a renal infection on 17 July 1964 in Heidelberg, Melbourne.[2]

Exhibitions

  • 2017, July 14 - October 15; Brave new world, National Gallery of Victoria
  • 2012/13, December 12 - July 7; Treasures Gallery, National Library of Australia, 12 December 2012 - 7 July 2013
  • 2008, March 5 - June 15; Bridging the Distance, National Library of Australia
  • 2007/8, December 13 - February 17; Pioneers of the Inland: Australia's Muslim Cameleers 1860s - 1930s, National Library of Australia
  • 2003/04, 22 October - March; Tourism in Australia: an exhibition of material from the Monash University Library Rare Books Collection, Sir Louis Matheson Library, Monash University[10]
  • 2001, August 10 - October 22; All the rage: the poster in Victoria 1850-2000, Keith Murdoch Gallery, State Library of Victoria
  • 1999/2000, November - March; Follow the Sun, National Library of Australia

Awards

1930s: First prize, annual industrial poster competition, Royal Society of Arts, London 1934: Ideal Label Contest 1946: First prize (£100) in the Blue Mountains Council's nation-wide competition

References

  1. ^ "Take a trip into the past: rare Australian vintage travel posters – in pictures". The Guardian. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Spearritt, Katie; Spearritt, Peter. "Trompf, Percival Albert (Percy) (1902–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Percival Albert TROMPF (1902-1964)". Federation University. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  4. ^ Trompf, Percy (1930), Banff : Canadian Pacific Railway, J.E. Hackett, print, retrieved 30 January 2020
  5. ^ Kerr, Rosemary (2019), Roads, tourism and cultural history : on the road in Australia, Channel View Publications, ISBN 978-1-84541-668-3
  6. ^ Dann, Graham (1996), The language of tourism : a sociolinguistic perspective, CAB International, ISBN 978-0-85198-999-0
  7. ^ Barnes, Jillian E., ‘Resisting the captured image: how Gwoja Tjungurrayi, ʻOne Pound Jimmyʼ, escaped the ʻStone Age.ʼ’​ In Hannah, Mark, (editor.); Macfarlane, Ingereth, (editor.); ANU E Press (2007), Transgressions : critical Australian indigenous histories, ANU E Press and Aboriginal History Incorporated, ISBN 978-1-921313-43-1 {{citation}}: |author1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Percy Trompf Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Percy Trompf Art Value Price Guide". www.invaluable.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  9. ^ www.bibliopolis.com. "Percy Trompf at Joseph Lebovic Gallery". Josef Lebovic Gallery. Retrieved 2020-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Overell, Richard; Overell, Richard (curator) (2003), Tourism in Australia: an exhibition of material from the Monash University Library Rare Books Collection 22 October 2003 - March 2004, Monash University Library, retrieved 30 January 2020
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