Prominent West Australian artist Robert Juniper has died aged 83.

Robert Juniper AM, WA State Living Treasure

Photo by Damien Smith

 

 

Juniper was a painter, illustrator, art teacher, sculptor and printmaker, and designed the coat of arms for the Commonwealth Law Courts in Perth in 1992.

His works are held in numerous collections in Australia, including the Australian National Gallery and Parliament House in Canberra.

In 2011, Juniper was made a member of the Order of Australia for services to the visual arts.
Juniper continued to paint every day in his early 80's and has been an inspiration and mentor to many Australian artists.

Former director of the West Australian Art Gallery, Alan Dodge, has told the ABC's Mornings program, Juniper has left a major legacy to the art world.

"He brought some very strong English and European influences in his work to Western Australia," he said. "He also trained a number of artists who went on to have careers of their own."

Gary Dufour, also from the gallery, says Juniper was a tireless advocate for the art world.
"I can think of really no time that someone needed something that Bob wasn't the person who'd say 'sure I'll do that for you'," he said.
"So he was always giving to the community both as a person but also doing posters, helping with sets for plays, all of that stuff."

Friend and former student, Leon Pericles, says Juniper was an inspiration to younger artists.
"He stands out as sort of a beacon in the Australian scene," he said.
"He's probably the most approachable of these great artists; he's a person with enormous generosity.
"In everybody's opinion he's a tribal elder to us younger artists."

More information on the Artist at http://www.robertjuniper.com/