Milton Budge

Milton Budge was born in 1941 at Kempsey’s Burnt Bridge Mission. Budge began his painting career in the late 1980s.

His paintings depict local Dreaming stories, memories of his life growing up on the mission and cultural memories of life pre-European arrival. Budge works with synthetic polymer on canvas using soft pastel colours that at times seem at odds with the content of his work in particular his Mission paintings, which often depict the sad, cruel and strict regime of a life lived on an Aboriginal mission mid-20th century.

Milton was awarded the Museum and Art Galleries Award at the 6th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 1989 for his painting “Ration Day, Burnt Bridge”. Various pieces of his work were also used in the 1991 feature film “Deadly” directed by Danish-Australian director Esben Storm.

Milton has exhibited in regional galleries throughout NSW including Lismore, Wollongong and Armidale as well as at Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Co-operative and in exhibitions in commercial and private galleries throughout Australia.

Milton’s paintings are in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, the State Gallery of South Australia, Queensland Museum, Griffith University and the Art Gallery of NSW.