James Money Australian, b. 1974

His fascination was captured by everything from MAD magazine to Vincent Van Gogh - his visual palate ran the gamut from traditional to contemporary art, magazine illustration and popular culture.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Money’s early graphic art influences comprised an unusually eclectic diet. His fascination was captured by everything from MAD magazine to Vincent Van Gogh - his visual palate ran the gamut from traditional to contemporary art, magazine illustration and popular culture. He had his first drawing published when he was 16 years of age and a few years later, graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, in 1995. Money worked as a cartoonist and illustrator for many years. His drawings were published by Amida magazine, The Age, The Ink Group and others. Barry Humphries once described Money’s Savage Club Prize winning drawing of Sir Les Patterson as “the best I’ve ever seen”. Sir William Dargie (winner of 8 Archibald Prizes) declared Money “a talent” when they met in the 90’s.

In 2010, his works were selected as finalists in the Archibald Prize and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. In 2013, Money’s portrait of John Bertrand was selected for the Salon des Refusés. In 2018, he was Semi Finalist in The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. In the tradition of Australian artists such as Norman Lindsay, Donald Friend and John Spooner, Money also produces pen and ink works. He creates these with an old -fashioned nib pen-dipping it in black ink to get thick and thin lines and showing his confidence as a supreme draughtsman. His work is included in public and private collections throughout Australia and abroad, including The Art Gallery of Ballarat.