Arthur Baldwinson (1908–1969) was one of Australia's first generation of prominent modernist architects to experience the European modernist movement first hand. His modernist contemporaries include Roy Grounds and Frederick Romberg in Victoria, as well as Sydney Ancher and Walter Bunning in New South Wales; their respective Australian architectural careers in modernism began in the late 1930s. Baldwinson's active professional career as an active practising architect was relatively short (1938–1960). Early life A talented sketcher, Baldwinson was encouraged to study architecture and in June 1925 enrolled at the Gordon Institute of TAFE, Geelong, Victoria. Baldwinson won the William Campbell sketching competition in 1930 and next year was admitted as an associate of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects. (Bogle, M, 2011) The Depression brought building to a standstill. After saving £42 for the fare, in April 1931 Baldwinson reached London where he was employed as a casual illustrator and in the office of the Australian-born architect Raymond McGrath. (Apperly & Reynolds 1993, Baldwinson) Baldwinson described his own work as being "in the real spirit of modern architecture' (Arthur Baldwinson diary 1934). On his return to Australia in 1936 he worked in both Sydney and Melbourne before establishing his own practice in 1938." (Apperly & Reynolds 1993, Baldwinson) Baldwinson was inspired by modernism from his earliest designs. He looked to contemporary modernist principles and the theories of Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus. He became convinced that new building techniques allowed the architect to create original forms, cleansed of surface ornament and free from historical style. (Apperly & Reynolds 1993, Baldwinson) Biography Baldwinson was born in Kalgoorlie, West Australia in 1908. He trained in architecture (1925–1929) under George R. King, the head of the architecture programme at the Gordon Institute of Technology, Geelong, Victoria. Baldwinson's work, especially in the areas of drawing and rendering, was exemplary and this led King to ask him to stay on as "Architectural Instructor". Baldwinson held a teaching position from 1930 until 1932 when he left for London. In London, Baldwinson was first employed in the office of Raymond McGrath, an architecture graduate from the University of Sydney. Whilst there, Baldwinson worked alongside such major talents like Serge Chermayeff and Wells Coates. McGrath's practise at the time included designing the interiors for the BBC's studios at Portland Place, London. In mid-1934, Baldwinson worked for the firm Adams Thompson and Fry during the period when principal partner