Jeff was born at Laura in 1956 a small country town at the Southern end of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. He grew up in nearby Wirrabara Forest where he attended the local primary school and then Gladstone High School, showing a keen interest in and a natural talent for artwork.
From the time he left school until 1990, Jeff did not draw or paint, but was busy working at the Forest and in his orchard. During this time he also married Miriam, brought up 4 sons, became a licensed painter-decorator and owned a hardware store in Laura.
In 1990 Jeff experienced a change of direction and developed his skills as a fine artist. Although Jeff did not receive any formal art training, he has studied by reading and by visiting art galleries and observing the painting techniques of other artists.
Jeff went on to become the Artist-in-Residence at Rawnsley Park in the Flinders Ranges for a period of three years. During this time Jeff’s natural ability to paint was further developed and he was often encouraged in his work by other artists who would visit and paint the Flinders Ranges. Jeff’s preferred painting medium is acrylics. The rugged and dramatic scenery of the Australian outback and the Flinders Ranges continues to inspire Jeff to capture its beauty on canvas in his very unique and detailed style.
Creating the Wilpena Panorama was a God-given vision, after having viewed the round panorama painting of Hank Guth in Alice Springs (since burnt down). It would be 10 years before Jeff’s panorama building and painting were completed in 2003. With the creation of his panorama, Jeff has become one of a small number of panoramic artists in the world officially recognized by the International Panorama Council.
In 2004 Jeff was invited to speak at the 12th International Panorama Conference in New York and has been a guest speaker at several other panorama conferences since. This has given him the opportunity to study the work of other panoramic artists around the world.
Jeff’s paintings sell world wide and his detailed depictions of the spectacular outback scenery are well sought after. Visitors from overseas travel to Hawker especially to see Jeff’s painting, the Wilpena Panorama, which is 3.5 metres (11′) high and 33 metres (98′) in circumference, and which took 4,000 hours to complete. Jeff has also painted straight panoramas and these are also on display in his art gallery in Hawker, South Australia, along with other original paintings and prints.
Jeff Morgan has featured in a number of television programmes (Stateline, Postcards, Out of the Ordinary etc.) and in various newspaper articles and radio station interviews, and has been described as a ‘living national treasure’!
Place Categories: See & Do in The Flinders Ranges and The Outback.
