H B Herbert was born in Ballarat and studied and later taught at the Ballarat School Of Mines (which despite its seemingly incongrous title produced many of Australia’s finest artists in the first part of the 20th-century.)
Known as a master of watercolour wash, in the early 1920s he established the ‘Herbert Watercolour Tradition’, which influenced many later watercolorists in Australia. Herbert exhibited widely (his exhibitions were usually sell-outs) and gained a huge reputation as one of Australia’s finest watercolourists.
Herbert was commissioned as an official war artist in the middle-east during WW2, and a number of his works are held by the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Also represented in the Australian National Gallery, most State galleries and provincial galleries. A most highly respected Australian artist.
References:
The New McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006.
Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989 (Harold B Herbert wartime watercolour reproduced on front wrapper).