1903, Toowoomba, Qld – 1976, Sydney

After his father opposed his original wish to be a jeweller, Douglas Annand joined the English, Scottish and Australian Bank in 1920. In 1925, while working as a commercial artist at Reed Press, Annand attended night classes at the Brisbane Central Technical College. In 1926, he was commissioned to undertake work for the Royal Worcester Co., England, and from 1928, he was employed by Samson Clark & Co.; in 1930, he transferred to their Sydney office, but was retrenched later that year.

Upon leaving the Allied Advertising Artists in 1931, Annand drew for Sydney Ure Smith’s publications The Home, Art in Australia and the Australian National Journal, from 1935 to 1939. In 1937, Annand designed the ceiling of the Australian pavilion at the Paris Exposition, and in 1938–39, he was art director of the Australian exhibition at the New York World’s Fair.

During World War Two, Annand was a camouflage artist with the Royal Australian Air Force (1941–44), and after the war, he completed commissions for the P&O Navigation Co., Sydney radio station 2UE, the University of Melbourne, and the international terminal at Sydney Airport. Annand was awarded two Australian Commercial and Industrial Artists’ Association medals in 1940, and the Sulman Prize in 1941, 1947 and 1951 for his murals.