Frank R. Crozier

Who was Frank R. Crozier?

Francis Rossiter Crozier was a war records artist who is represented in the Australian War Memorial's art collection along with other Official War Artists such as H. Septimus Power, Arthur Streeton, George Lambert and Ivor Hele.

Crozier studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in 1907 and was a member of the Charterisville artists' colony in Heidelberg, Victoria somewhere between 1900 and 1910 with Alf Fisher, then with the group centred on Clara Southern at nearby Warrandyte. He and W. B. McInnes held a private exhibition in Collins Street before leaving for Europe in 1912.

Crozier was a soldier with the Australian Imperial Force after enlisting in March 1915 where he served in the 22nd Battalion in Egypt and on the Gallipoli peninsula. Whilst at Gallipoli, he was approached by journalist C.E.W. Bean to help illustrate the 'Anzac Book', a collection of short stories and illustrations for the troops. His artistic talent was noted by Bean, who had been given the role of official military historian and when official war artists were being commissioned by the Australian Government, Bean recommended Crozier be included in the scheme.