At the early age of 14, Ken Done, who was born in Sydney in 1940, began studying art at the National Art School. In the late seventies, after twenty years as a commercial artist in Sydney, New York and London, he began painting full-time.

Done held his first exhibition in Sydney in 1980, soon becoming one of the most significant painters on the Australian continent. In 1988 he was commissioned with the design of Australia‟s and the United Nations’ pavilions at the EXPO in Brisbane, Queensland. His paintings feature vivid colours and brush strokes portraying the typical face of Australia.