Boyd is a family famous for its contributions to the arts in Australia. The first members of the family to make a name for themselves were the landscape painters Arthur Merric Boyd (1862-1940) and his wife, Emma (1858-1936). Boyd was born in New Zealand and settled in Australia in 1886, marrying Emma Minnie à Beckett that year. They were known mainly for their water colors.
Merric Boyd (1888-1959), Penleigh Boyd (1890-1923), and Martin Boyd (1893-1972), three sons of Arthur Merric and Emma Minnie, also became well known in Australian arts. Merric, a sculptor and ceramist, became known as the father of Australian pottery. He founded a famous studio at Murrembeena, near Melbourne, where he experimented with new techniques in ceramics. His wife, Doris (1883-1960), a gifted painter and ceramist, decorated much of her husband’s work. Penleigh was a landscape painter and etcher. He died in an automobile accident at the age of 33. Martin was an author distinguished for his novels, which explore the social history of Melbourne’s privileged classes of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Lucy Boyd (1916-2009), Arthur Boyd (1920-1999), Guy Boyd (1923-1988), and David Boyd (1924-2011), all children of Merric and Doris, also became well-known artists. Lucy, a ceramist, became known mainly for her ceramic paintings. Arthur, a painter, ceramist, and sculptor, became internationally recognized for the remarkable diversity of his work, which includes landscapes, portraits, and works reflecting biblical themes, myths, and legends. Guy, a ceramist and sculptor, founded Martin Boyd Pottery in Sydney in 1946, specializing in sculptures of the female figure as well as public commissions. His projects included mural relief sculptures for airports in Melbourne and Sydney. After 1964, he exhibited regularly in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. David, a ceramist and painter, first established a reputation in pottery and ceramic sculpture with his wife, Hermia (1931-2000), a ceramist, sculptor, and graphic artist. David was a founder-artist member of the controversial Melbourne group the Antipodeans, who urged artists to reject abstraction and defend the figurative image. From 1957, he exhibited paintings regularly in Australia, France, and the United Kingdom, where he gained wide recognition. Robin Boyd (1919-1971), a son of Penleigh, was an architect and distinguished author and critic. His best-known book is The Australian Ugliness (1960).
Of the fourth generation, Arthur’s son Jamie (1948-…), a painter and graphic artist, exhibited regularly in Europe and Australia. Arthur’s daughter Polly (1946-…), a painter; Guy’s daughter Lennore (1953-…), a sculptor; and David and Hermia’s daughters Amanda (1949-…), Lucinda (1954-…), and Cassandra (1956-…), painters and graphic artists, all exhibited in Australia beginning in 1973.
