• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Account
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • Videos
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Australian Military Ship Losses
      • RAN events on a  Google Earth Map
      • RAN Vessels – Where are they now?
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers and Historical Booklets
      • Books
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • NSW Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Rushcutter
    • Close
  • Naval Art
  • Tours & Cruises
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, East
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, West
    • Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Artworks / Peter Churcher

Peter Churcher

(Born Brisbane, 1964)

Peter Churcher was brought up in a household involved in the arts. He is the son of Betty Churcher, who was the director of the National Art Gallery of Australia from 1990-1997. Peter Churcher's first qualifications though, were in music, not art. Travelling through Europe after gaining his Licentiate for Piano Performance from Trinity College, London, he visited a great many galleries and decided to return to his original love, painting. In 1991 he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from Prahran School of Art and Design, now Deakin University.  He held his first solo exhibition in 1994.

In 2002 Peter Churcher was commissioned as the Australian War Artist to document the Australian Navy in the Persian Gulf. He was sent to the Persian Gulf and Diego Garcia, where he recorded the people and operations of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Churcher’s paintings and drawings of the Australian military's engagement in the Coalition against Terrorism are on show at the Australian War Memorial.

During his commission he produced many oil paintings and drawings of works characterised by spontaneity, a refreshing directness, and a fascination with the figurative. For the first three weeks, he experienced life with the RAN on board the HMAS Kanimbla and Adelaide. His images range from the claustrophobic engine room to officers at work on the ship’s bridge. Churcher's work captures the day-to-day experiences of today's defence force personnel, while harking back to older art traditions and styles. His images provide a valuable insight into the nature of modern warfare.

Churcher exhibits regularly in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane at privately run galleries. His work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra; the Australian War Memorial; Canberra and the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria. He has entered the Archibald prize ten times and been hung six times. He has been hung twice in the Sulman Prize.

Churcher is currently living and working in Barcelona, Spain. He was recently awarded first prize in “El Concurso de Grabados” (Printmaking Prize) de Sant Lluc, Barcelona, 2008.

Artist statement:

“Since graduating from art school, I have been primarily concerned with the painting of the human figure in a narrative context and the depiction of the human presence - that is the Portrait. This focus all stems from my devotion to the great figurative masters such as Velasquez and Rembrandt and my firm belief and personal quest to depict our own surrounding world of visual, sensory and emotional stimuli through paint on canvas.”

  • Additional resources for Peter Churcher
    • Peter Churcher, Wikipedia
    • Peter Churcher, Australian Galleries
    • Peter Churcher, Official Artist: Exhibition, Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)
    • Peter Churcher, Official Artist: The War Against Terrorism, Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)

The bridge, HMAS Adelaide

HMAS Canberra (LHD1) flooding the dock by Peter Churcher

HMAS Canberra (LHD1) flooding the dock

Stoker in engine room one, HMAS Kanimbla by Peter Churcher

Stoker in engine room one, HMAS Kanimbla

The hangar, HMAS Kanimbla by Peter Churcher

The hangar, HMAS Kanimbla

Operations room, HMAS Kanimblaby Peter Churcher

Operations room, HMAS Kanimbla

Explore all Naval Art
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Explore Naval Art
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2025