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The Legend of Europa and the Cockatoos is dedicated to my brother, Arthur Boyd, in appreciation of his generosity to the Australian people and his affection for cockatoos, David Boyd, 1995
"Unlike the various Trial series of paintings which used the visual language to express ideas about a fundamental and disturbing feature of the human condition, The Legend of Europa and the Cockatoos is presented as an entertaining parable. The following background notes may be of interest to people curious about how the series evolved.  Late in 1994 I was working on some pastels called Music and the Angels.  Because of the wings and the expression on the faces of the angel musicians, the pastels evoked the spirit of the Baroque rather than the exhilarating frenzy of 20th century rock music.  Suddenly in December, following the opening of the new second north south runway and the closure of the main east west at Sydney Airport, the roar of jet aircraft ascending north in increasing frequency above my studio or the whining scream as they approached to land, completely drown the music of the angels. Putting aside their instruments they gazed sadly upwards or out of the picture. I have kept the angel that first appeared thus.  It is called Angel Listening to the Roar of Jets Over Sydney Australia. The painting belongs to the artists collection, on occasion is included, on loan, to selected exhibitions.  What has does the above got to do with a winged figure chasing cockatoos? An idea can have its genesis in unexpected ways. Since boyhood I had not given a great deal of thought to airplanes, but now with huge jet machines constantly roaring overhead it become impossible to ignore this wonder of modern technology. To draw or paint pictures of the things would keep their menacing shape in the forefront of the mind. It happened that waiting amongst a stack of pencil drawings from the 1960's was a sketch of a winged figure running through the bush land. The title, Europa Fleeing From a Bushfire, instantly kindled an idea. Why not! I thought. There is a link there. Remote from Jumbo jets but enough to set the imagination on fire. Using the drawings as reference I painted a winged figure running to gain speed, as a pelican does before rising.  There followed other pictures of a related configuration - such as Europa falling above an inland sea or leaning against the rough back of a wombat while star gazing. At night she dreams that she is frolicking with the cockatoos.  Sometimes her dreams are hounded by a Sacred golden-plumed wombat sitting on her belly or the rarely seen black cockatoo.  Her days are fully occupied chasing sulphur crested white cockatoos. Europa has fashioned herself a pair of solid gold wings but the weight of them prevents her from flying.  She pursues the cockatoos because she believes their crests are made of the purest gold.  She is convinced that if she captures the birds and enlarges her wings with their crests she will achieve the exhilarating freedom of flight.  Europa is not successful until, from a hiding place in a wattle tree, she preys on the unsuspecting birds, grasping their crests when they fly close. Over a period of the hundred and seven years she gradually enlarges her wings.  Alas, with each new crest she adds to the wings the heaver they become.  The day arrives when she can no longer run or even move for she is crushed beneath the weight of her now mighty gold wings.

Acclaimed since  the 50’s and 60‘s (first as a potter) David Boyd began career as a painter in 1957 with a series of symbolic paintings on Australian explorers. David Boyd has painted several major series of works, including the powerful Trial series, the Tasmanian Aborigines, the Legend of Europa & the Cockatoos series (1995-2003), the Wanderer and Exiles series, he was work on “Children series” for over 50 years. Picturing innocence and evil, destruction and creation, his works convey mythical and universal themes.

1924        David Boyd was born in Murrumbeena, Melbourne. Third and youngest
               son of artists Merric and Doris Boyd. Studied pottery and painting within
               the family circle and also the piano. Entered the Melba Memorial
               Conservatorium of Music at 17
1942     Joined Contempory Art Society of Australia. Conscripted into Australian Army
1944-46   Studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and the National
               Gallery School on an ex-serviceman's grant. First exhibition of paintings
               with John Yule at the Rowden White Library, University of Melbourne.
               In partnership with brother Guy Boyd founded Martin Boyd pottery in Sydney
1947        Painting expedition in New Caledonia with author Hugh Atkinson
1948-49   Married Hermia Lloyd-Jones, younger daughter of graphic artist Herman
               (Jonah) and Erica Lloyd-Jones. Began pottery career with Hermia.
               First exhibition of pottery in Sydney
1950-55   Established pottery studios in London and in the South of France joined
               for a time by ceramist and painter Stanislaw Halpern, travelled widely                   throughout Spain. Returned to Australia
1956        David and Hermia Boyd became widely known as leading Australian
               potters. Introduced new techniques in glazing and the use of the potters
               wheel in shaping sculptural figures. Greatly influenced local potters in
               particular Tom Sanders and John Perceval. Major exhibition of ceramic
               tiles and sculptures at the Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
1957-58   Commenced painting 'The Explorer' series, exhibited at the Australian
               Galleries, Melbourne, and Clune Galleries, Sydney
1959        Started a series of paintings based upon the extinction of the full blood
               Tasmanian Aboriginal in the nineteenth century. Took part in issuing the
               Antipodean manifesto with Blackman, Arthur Boyd, Brack, Dickerson,
               Perceval, Pugh and B. Smith defending the figurative image in
               contemporary painting in a joint exhibition in Melbourne. Exhibited
               'The Explorers and The Tasmanians' in Adelaide
1960        Commenced a series of paintings on the theme of 'Law and Justice,
               The Trial series'. Elected President of the Contemporary Art Society
               (Victorian branch), Councillor of the Museum of Modern Art of Australia
1961        First prize Italian Art Scholarship for Australia. Chairman of the Federal
               Council of the Contemporary Art Society of Australia
1962        Lived in Rome, continuing 'The Trial' series, before he settled in London
1963        First one-man exhibitions in London and Paris of 'The Trial' paintings
1964        Revisited Spain and painted 'Church and State' series based upon this visit
1965        One-man exhibitions in London and in Australia of 'Church and State'
1966        Discovered method of using candle flame to create images and named
               the technique Sfumato, a word used by Leonardo da Vinci to describe
               graduations of a misty tone in painting (although there is no evidence
               that Leonardo used a candle flame to achieve this effect)
1967-69   Exhibited Sfumato paintings in London and in Australia, including
               Newcastle, New South Wales. Revisited Australia. Exhibited late Sfumato
               and 'Limbo' paintings in Adelaide, South Australia. 'War Games' in
               Sydney, NSW. Visited Boyd Town at Twofold Bay, south coast of New
               South Wales. Commenced a series of paintings, 'The Wanderer', inspired
               by the life of Benjamin Boyd, an Australian adventurer of the 1840s.
               Retrospective exhibition of loaned works from various collections in
               Australia and Britain at Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London, Edinburgh and Sheffield
1970        Settled in south of France. First exhibition of Wanderer series at Adelaide
               Festival of Arts, South Australia. Next at von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1971        Exhibited 'The Wanderer' series in separate sections in three concurrent
               London exhibitio]ns. Started a series based on mythological 'Orchard of
               Heaven', first exhibitied in Brisbane, Queensland. Visited Australia
1972        Developed theme of 'The Orchard' and exhibited series entitled 'The Garden in the Wilderness' in Newcastle, New South Wales. Commenced
               the 'Exiles' series which formed the latest inclusion in the exhibition.
               Returned to France. Developed the theme, 'The Exiles'
1973        Exhibited 'The Exiles' series in London and in Melbourne, Victoria
1974        Retrospective exhibition at Skinner Galleries, Perth, Festival of Arts
1975        Returned to Australia. Retrospective exhibition at von Bertouch Galleries,    Newcastle, NSW
1976        Retrospective exhibition at Bonython Gallery, Sydney
1977        Commenced series 'The Private View'
1978        Developed theme of 'The Private View'
1979-82   Major retrospective exhibition, Albert Hall, Canberra. Painted a series of
               works entitled 'The Day of the Picnic'
1983        'Retrospecitive Exhibition 1957-82', a series of seven exhibitions,
               Wagner Art Gallery, Sydney
1985        Exhibition 'Four Seasons', Wagner Art Gallery, Sydney
1986        Exhibited 'A Judge in the Landscape' series, Hong Kong; Wagner Art
               Gallery, Sydney; von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1987        Exhibition 'Requiem for the Birth of a Nation', Wagner Art Gallery, Sydney
1988        Exhibition 'Antipodean Second Chapter', Lauraine Diggins Fine Arts,
               Melbourne; Lanyon Gallery, Canberra
1989        S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, 'Antipodean Second Chapter'
1990        Dedicated to Merric and Doris Boyd, Wagner Art Gallery, Sydney
1991-92   'The Clown in the Tree' series
1992        Survey retrospective exhibitions Wagner Gallery, Sydney; Caulfield Art
               Complex, Melbourne; Macquarie University, Sydney; Beaver Galleries,
               Sydney, Canberra
1993-94   'Metaphors of Trial' series, von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1995        'The Legend of Europa and the Cockatoos', Eva Breuer Art Dealer,
               Sydney
1996        'Europa in Australia', von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1996-97   'Driftwood' and the 'Hierarchy' series, von Bertouch Galleries; Wagner
               Gallery, Sydney
1997        The Best of Boyd, Galeria Aniela, Kangaroo Valley
1998        Music and the Angels, Galeria Aniela, Kangaroo Valley
1999        Survey retrospective, von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
2001        Reconciliation, Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Sydney, NSW

Appointments and Awards
1960        President of the Contemporary Art Society (Victorian branch)
1960        Elected Councillor of the Museum of Modern Art of Australia
1961        First Prize Italian Art Scholarship for Australian Chairman of the Federal
               Council of the Contemporary Art Society of Australia.
1993-96   Artist in residence School of Law, Macquarie University, NSW
1998        MEMBRO ALBO DORO DEL SENATO ACCADEMICO - International
               Academy of Modern Art, Rome, Italy

Selected Bibliography
Bonython, K. Modern Australian painting and Sculpture, Griffin Press, Adelaide, 1960
Bonython, K. Modern Australian Painting 1960-1970, with introduction by Ross K. Luck, Rigby Limited, Adelaide, 1970
Boyd, Martin, Day of my Delight, Lansdowne Press Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1965
Burr, James & Williams, Sheldon, Sfumato Paintings and Drawings of David Boyd (monograph). Ritchie Dickson Limited, London, 1967
Finlay, D. J. Modern Australian Painting, Beaverbrook Newspapers Limited, London, 1963
Hood, K., Pottery, Longmans, Melbourne, 1961
Luck, Ross K, The Australian Painters, 1964-66
The Mertz Collection, Griffin Press, Adelaide, 1966
Luck, Ross K., Modern Australian Painting, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1969
Parr, Lenton, Sculpture, Longmons, Melbourne, 1961
Pringle, J. D., Australian Painting Today, Thames & Hudson, London, 1963
Smith, Bernard, Australian Painting 1788-1960, and revised edition 1788-1970, Oxford University Press, 1962
Smith, Bernard, Australian Painting Today, University of Queensland Press, 1962
Osborne, Harold (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Art, Oxford University Press, 1970
Benko, Nancy, The Art of David Boyd (monograph), Hyde Park Press, Adelaide, 1973 (with foreward by Judith Wright)
Craig, Edward D., Australian Art Auction Records 1973-75, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1975
Vader, John, The Pottery and Ceramics of David and Hermia Boyd, Mathews/Hutchinson, Sydney, 1977
Benezit, E., Dictionaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Librairie Grand Paris, 1976
Smith, Bernard, Catalogue, David Boyd Retrospective Exhibition, Commonwealth Institute, London, 1969
Marginson, Ray, Catalogue of the Melbourne University Art Collection, 1971
The Antipodean Manifesto, catalogue of Antipodean Exhibition, Melbourne, 1959
Recent Australian Painting, Whitechapel Gallery, 1961
Commonwealth Art Today, Commonwealth Institute, London, 1962
Craig, Edward D., Australian Art Auction Records 1976-1978, Rigby, 1979
Scarlett, Ken, Australian Sculptors, Nelson, 1980
Germaine, Max, Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand, Landsdown, 1979 & 1984
Craig, Edward D., Australian Art Auction Records, Currawong Press, New South Wales, 1982
Craig, Edward D., Australian Art Auction Records - Australian Art Sales, 1987-1989
Fry, Gavin & Gray, Anne, Masterpieces of the Australian War Memorial, Rigby, 1982
Dolan, David, Charles Bannon: Australian Printmaker: An Aspect of Australian art 1968-1982, Angus and Robertson
Smith, Bernard, The Critic as Advocate, Oxford, 1989
Dbrez, Patricia & Herbst, Peter, The Art of the Boyds, Bay Books, New South Wales, 1991
Craig, Edward D., 'Australian Art Auctions Records 1989-1991' Vol 7 Australian Art Sales, NSW, 1991
Merric Boyd Studio Potter 1888-1959 Victoria, Hammond, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1990
von Bertouch, Anne, What Was It..., Hunnifords Lane Press, Newcastle, 1989-90
Arnold, John & Morris, Dierdre (eds.), Monash Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Australia, Reed Reference Publishing, 1994
Furby, Paula & Snowden, Betty, The University of Adelaide Art Collections, University of Adelaide, S.A., 1995
Art and Law, vol. 20, no. 2, April 1995, Monash University, Victoria
From Vision to Sesquicentenary, The University of Sydney, 1999
Amadio, Nadine, Introduction to catalogue, Reconciliation, Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Sydney, 2001

1997 ABC TV Sunday Afternoon; BOYD
Galeria Aniela exhibition with artist support