Pamela Strahan Conder
Biographical Summary
29 solo exhibitions of Pamela Conder’s work have been held in Australia and internationally since 1977. These include 1979 Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Belgium; 1980 Gesellschaftshaus, Zoologischer Garten Frankfurt am Main; and 1984, 1988 Studio 18 Jersey, Channel Islands.
Her work as artist, author and naturalist has been recognized by numerous awards, including 9 Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Awards in the fields of painting, drawing and sculpture (most recently, the 1998 Award for Best Exhibit), as well as 3 Whitley Book Awards from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales and the Wilderness Society's 1998 Environment Award for Children's Literature. In 1999 she received the Award for Best Exhibit (Painting) at the RSPCA Annual Exhibition. Her 'Incomplete Book of Australian Mammals' (in collaboration with her husband Ronald Strahan AM. DSc.) was shortlisted for a NSW Premier's Literary Award.
Pamela was named 2009 Wildlife Artist of the Year, and Winner of the Endangered Species Category at the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London.
In 1991 Pamela received the prestigious Thomas Ramsay Science and Humanities Fellowship of the
Museum of Victoria for her research on Megachiropterans and her subsequent book on Flying-foxes.
She has published widely, as author and artist, in a variety of contexts including scientific, popular natural
history and children's fiction. She has also travelled extensively, studying wildlife. Pamela Conder's work is
held in public and private collections in Australia and internationally.
Curriculum Vitae
Solo Exhibitions
Works on Paper, Silk and Canvas – Sculptures in gold, silver and bronze.
1977: Emerald Gallery, Victoria.
1978: Young Originals Gallery, Melbourne (April).
1978: Young Originals Gallery, Melbourne (October).
1979: La Salle des Marbres, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Belgium.
1979: Young Originals Gallery, Melbourne.
1980: Royal Zoological Society of South Australia, Adelaide Zoological Gardens
1980: Gesellschaftshaus, Zoologischer Garten Frankfurt am Main, Germany
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985: Young Originals Gallery, Melbourne
1984: Studio 18, Jersey, Channel Islands.
1986, 1987, 1988, 1994: Gallery 21, Lower Templestowe.
1988: Studio 18, Jersey, Channel Islands.
1994: Elgin Gallery, Melbourne.
1996: Gallery 21, Melbourne.
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002: Eltham Wiregrass Gallery.
2003: Moulton Galleries, Sydney.
2004: Artistry Galleries, Melbourne
Selected Shared Exhibitions
1988: Michel Gallery, with Cai Tian-xiong (Chairman, Art Research Department Shanghai Art and Craft
College).
1978-98: Exhibiting member of the Wildlife Art Society of Australasia.
1995: Gallery 21, Melbourne, with Lorrie Conder.
1995: Chinese Watercolour Association, Taipei, Taiwan and Chinese Museum, Melbourne.
1996: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, “The Clever Country – Scientists in Australia” (Portrait of
Ronald Strahan). 2012: Winged Things and Other Wonders of the Natural World. Domain House Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. 1981: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Whitley Award, Best Children's Natural History Book (The Friends of Burramys.Text by June Epstein. Oxford University Press).
1982: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Award for Best Watercolour. Angus & Robertson 1994). (The Incomplete Book of Australian Mammals, with verse by Ronald Strahan, Simon & Schuster 1997). Australian Mammals, with verse by Ronald Strahan, Simon & Schuster 1997). with verse by Ronald Strahan. Simon & Schuster, 1997. Foundation, The Mall Galleries, London. Fellowship Club of Victoria. Angus & Robertson. Ed. Ronald Strahan, Australian Museum & Reed Books. Strahan). Kangaroo Press, Simon & Schuster. Beatty & Sons. No. 162, December. July 29th, 1997. Australian Zoologist 30)4. Strait Islands (University of Queensland Bat Research Project). 2000: Singapore (Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research), Bali (Elephants). Fellow of the Zoological Society of London Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme Earth 4 Orangutans Different Like Us - Art 4 Orangutans Represented in private and public collections in Australia and internationally.
2003: Exhibition of Finalists, Inaugural South Australian Museum Waterhouse Prize for Natural History Art.
2009: Wildlife Artist of the Year, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation , The Mall Galleries, London.
2010: Wildlife Artist of the Year, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, The Mall Galleries, London. Shortlisted.
1985: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Award for Best Watercolour.
1988: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Award for Best Representation of an Australian Mammal.
1990: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Award for Best Representation of an Australian Mammal.
1993: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Special Award for Innovation.
1994: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Award for Best Mixed Media Exhibit (Sculpture).
1995: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Award for Best Sculpture.
1995: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Whitley Award for Best Popular Natural History Book (With Wings on their Fingers – an intimate view of the Flying-fox. Text and illustrations.
1997: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Whitley Award for Best Book of Zoological Whimsy.
1997: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia, inaugural Inner Eye Award for Most Innovative and Imaginative Work.
1998: The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children’s Literature (The Incomplete Book of
1998: Wildlife Art Society of Australasia Award for Best Exhibit.
1999: New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award Shortlist for The Incomplete Book of Australian Mammals,
1999: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Award for Best Painting.
2009: Wildlife Artist of the Year and Winner Endangered Species Category , David Shepherd Wildlife
1991: Sir Thomsay Ramsay Science and Humanities Fellowship of the Museum of Victoria.
Publications
1969: Introducing Frogs (text and illustrations). Hawthorn Junior Field Naturalists’ Club, Field Naturalists’
1970: Breeding the Common Wombat in Captivity (Text). Victorian Naturalist Vol. 87, November.
1979: Toad Forest (text and illustrations). Gryphon Books, Melbourne.
1981: The Friends of Burramys (illustrations) text June Epstein, Oxford University Press.
1987, 1988: Nature, monthly column for Warrandyte Diary (text and illustration).
1988: A Brush with the Wild. (Text & illustrations) Australian Artist Vol. 4:8.
1990: Flying Foxes or Fruit Bats? (Text and illustrations) Zoo News Vol. 10:1
1994: With Wings on their Fingers – an intimate view of the Flying-fox. (Text and illustrations.)
1995: Percy Island Flying-fox, Pteropus brunneus. (Text and photographs) In The Mammals of Australia,
1996: Nature of Australia. (Text) Australia Post Heritage Series.
1997: The Incomplete Book of Australian Mammals (paintings and drawings, with verse by Ronald
1997: Gorillas in the Garden: Zoology and Zoos (paintings and drawings) text by Angus Martin, Surrey
1997: Words and Pictures: An Artist’s View of the Zoo (Text and illustrations) Australian Artist Magazine
1998: Launch of The Incomplete Book of Australian Mammals at the Australian Museum, Tuesday,
2007: Dictionary of Australian and New Guinean Mammals (Text) with Ronald Strahan. CSIRO Publishing.
Teaching
1990 - 1992: Watercolour, Victoria Artists’ Society.
1990 – 1994: Monash University Arts and Crafts Centre
1995: McGregor Summer School, University of Southern Queensland.
1991 – 1994: Member of Monash University Arts and Crafts Centre Committee of Management.
Selected Travel
1978 – 1986: Annual travel to zoos, museums and wildlife areas of Europe and South-east Asia.
1979: New Zealand – Little Spotted Kiwi collecting expedition.
1980: New Zealand – educational graphics for National Kiwi Centre.
1980: Botswana and Zimbabwe (Frankfurt Zoological Society).
1981: Kenya and Southern Sudan (Frankfurt Zoological Society).
1983: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Frankfurt Zoological Society).
1984: India 1985: Around Australia 1986: China (Guangzhou)
1987: Hong Kong, Queensland.
1988: China (Asian Pacific Symposium of Mammalogy). Hong Kong. Far North Queensland and Torres
1989: Far North Queensland (Flying-fox research).
1991: Hong Kong, Frankfurt, London, Jersey (bat research).
1992-1999: Research within Australia (Sydney, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane).
Affiliations
Scientific Member Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Australian Mammal Society
Australasian Bat Society
Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria
The Australian Museum Society
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Friends of the Zoos Inc.
Bornean Orangutan Survival