Lorne Victoria Australia

Lorne as a place of natural beauty has drawn many artists to capture the beauty and life in works of art. Some people who have created artistic works include:

Coy, Robert (1948-1999)

These paintings were done for the Fish Shop in the Fishing Co-op building at Point Grey.

Read more about Rob Coy

Grass, Shirley

 

Hatherly, Will

“Summer Day”, Lorne 1980, by William Hatherly

 

“Blue Seas” by Will Hatherly, 1977

Will (Bill) Hatherly was a prolific amateur artist from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. He was a popular figure in Lorne, setting up his easel on the side of the road and selling his paintings through such venues as the annual Lions Club Art Show and various gift shops.

[Source: Facebook post by Sue Hatherly Maurer]

Holloway, Simon

“Business As Usual”, painting by Simon James Holloway

Jarratt A.E.

A.E. Jarratt painting

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Kett, Norma

“Teddy’s Lookout” by Norma Kett

Born in 1926 in Ararat, Norma grew up in a family with strong public service roots – her grandfather was mayor and her father a postmaster. In 1932, the family moved to Yackandandah, where Norma quickly stood out for her ability in mathematics and science, often finishing as dux of her year. Her academic strength earned her a scholarship to University High School in Melbourne, before she went on to study science at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1949.

After a year working in science, Norma returned to study at Melbourne Teachers College, training as a teacher. It was there she met her husband Jack, a recently returned RAAF pilot. While balancing family life and work, Norma discovered a passion for landscape oil painting in the 1960s, which would become a defining thread of her life.

Norma Kett celebrates her 100th birthday. (Surf Coast Times photo 20 April 2026)

After moving from Melbourne to Bright, Norma turned her passion into a gallery she operated for 33 years, before relocating to Torquay in 2007 to be closer to family. Looking back on her life, Norma said her highlights include “a wonderful education, and the opportunity to paint, marrying a wonderful man, and having five beautiful children”. [Source: Surf Coast Times]

Leask? R. Kenneth

Kenneth R. Leask?

Parsons, Elizabeth

Painting by Elizabeth Parsons 1879

“Loutit Bay” by Elizabeth Parsons 1879

Painting is by Elizabeth Parsons, dated 1879. Elizabeth Parsons visited Lorne over the Christmas, New Year period of 1879-80, and there produced a number of oils and watercolours, depicting Lorne and Loutit Bay. Among the works she produced were a watercolour of ‘Lorne Jetty’, painted in 1879, and another watercolour ‘View Across Loutit Bay’, painted in 1880 which depicts very much the same view as her oil ‘Loutit Bay’, painted in 1879 and reproduced here.

Streeton, Arthur (1867 – 1943)

1921, ‘Lorne and the Bay’ by Arthur Streeton

Arthur Streeton was born in 1867 in Duneed, near Geelong. After spending many years abroad, Streeton returned to Australia in 1920 with a keen desire to reconnect with the local landscape. During the summer of 1921, Streeton completed at least five paintings of Lorne.

The picture, ‘(Lorne and the Bay)’, takes full advantage of the spectacle that emerges when the glorious sweep of Lorne comes into view with its sparkling aquamarine waters and a beach, dotted with swimmers and walkers, that stretches its way into a township that is perfectly framed by impenetrable cliffs. In a letter to Sydney Ure Smith, Streeton considered his Lorne pictures amongst his best from this period.

There are at least five paintings of Streeton’s visit to Lorne, a reacquaintance with his famous “Streeton blue” evident in the work, ‘Ocean blue, Lorne’, held in the collection of the Geelong Art Gallery, a view of the ocean framed by towering gum trees. In 2004, Geoffrey Smith gave his definitive perspective on Streeton’s 1921 series of coastal views. “These are amongst the most significant of all his Victorian coastal subjects” he wrote “yet remain largely unknown in his oeuvre; for relatively small in number they were purchased from their initial exhibitions by private collectors and disappeared from public view.”

[ Dr Julie Cotter ]

Streeton thought so highly of Ocean blue, Lorne that it was retained in the family’s possession for decades and, in 1935, featured it in a deluxe publication of his finest works. It was included in his 1938 solo exhibition, at which time it was singled out as ‘a masterpiece in colour and tone.’
[The Argus, 2 August 1938]

Ocean blue, Lorne 1921
oil on canvas
Geelong Gallery
Purchased with funds generously provided by Geelong Art Gallery Foundation, Robert Salzer Foundation Art Program, Geelong Community Foundation, Will and Dorothy Bailey Charitable Gift and numerous individual donors, 2011.

Sutton, Susan

Susan Sutton Pier Restaurant

Susan Sutton is a painter of significantly detailed oil paintings on canvas which embody social observations and specific subjects along Victoria’s Surf Coast. There is particular emphasis on the region along the Great Ocean Road between Geelong and Lorne.