Born in 1924, David was one of five children to husband and wife potters Merric and Dorris Boyd. Elder brothers Arthur and Guy and younger sisters Lucy and Mary all carried on the family's talented and artistic traditions, as painters, potters, sculptors, ceramic artists and photographers. (Mary's husbands were also artists, first John Perceval and then Sidney Nolan.) David began his professional career receiving instruction in music before turning to pottery and collaborating with his wife, Hermia in a partnership that was to receive international acclaim and influence the development of ceramic art in Australia. His painting career commenced when he created a series on the Australian… explorers. He continued to achieve popularity with successive series, drawing themes from the world around him and exploring them comprehensively. Throughout his lifetime David won significant international recognition. He exhibited almost annually from 1950 to 2001 both in Australia and overseas and was honoured with a landmark retrospective held by the Commonwealth Institute of Art, London, in 1969. David Boyd is represented in the Australian National Gallery, Canberra; all State and many regional galleries; the Mertz collection, USA; the Power Collection, Sydney; and many major international galleries and private collections in Australia and around the world.