The fact that the late artist , Ray Crooke OAM , who died from cancer , at the age of 93, did portraits of prominent and controversial author Xavier Herbert and his wife , Sadie, seems to have been almost completely overlooked by the Australian media. Newspaper reports of Crooke's death concentrated on the fact that he had won the Archibald Prize in 1969 with the portrait of another author and friend , George Johnston , and his Gauguin-like renditions of island life .
Herbert won the 1938 Australian sesquicentenary award with his novel, Capricornia, based on his experiences in the Northern Territory, and in 1975 was declared the Miles Franklin Award winner with his epic Poor Fellow My Country, the cover paintings by Crooke. He also illustrated Herbert's Dreaming Road .
Beginning early next year, Little Darwin will launch an extensive series about Xavier Herbert's colourful life, concentrating on his time in the Northern Territory and the Cairns area .
