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The Artists

Gert Sellheim (1901-1970)

Gert Sellheim was born in Estonia and studied architecture in Berlin, Munich and Graz. He migrated to Australia in 1926 and spent two years working as a farm labourer before his architectural qualifications were recognised .

Sellheim moved to Melbourne in 1930, and began designing posters the next year. His design for the interior decoration of the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau won the Sulman Prize in 1939.

During 1943, Sellheim was interned for three months because of his German citizenship. After his release and a brief period spent living in Adelaide, he settled in Sydney, where graphic design was becoming increasingly important.

Sellheim designed the famous flying kangaroo symbol for Qantas as well as the two-shilling 'Aboriginal Art' stamp in 1948. He was also the correspondence teacher for poster design at the Art Training Institute, Melbourne.

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