*1920 in Potts Point, Australia
†2001 in Sydney, Australia
Robert Klippel was an Australian artist most noted for sculpture and is widely considered one of the most influential figures in Australian art. Considering the constraints of formal art education as too strict, he dropped out of art school after only a year and moved to England, where he made the acquaintance of the surrealist painter James Gleeson and used his stay in Europe to get in touch with European artists – including André Breton and the other Surrealists. Klippel worked various jobs to support himself during his experimentation with metal and its capability to convey organic ideals like growth. He taught and exhibited widely across the United States and Europe until 1967 when he returned to Sydney. In 1988 he was awarded an Order of Australia medal for his services in art. Public museums that have significant collections of his sculptures include, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; and National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.