Andrew Hagar | The Cyclops Is My Valet; The Matador My Friend

Andrew Hagar is an Australian painter and musician born in Western Sydney in the 1950s. Introduced to art at age six after receiving pastels from his grandmother, he developed an instinctive, expressive style grounded in presence and emotion.

In the 1970s, Hagar immersed himself in New York’s underground arts scene, performing at venues such as CBGB while his raw, neo-expressionist paintings gained attention among downtown collectors during the rise of artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat. After returning to Australia and stepping away from the spotlight, he resumed painting in the early 2000s, creating deeply instinctual figurative works that explore the shared subconscious and the human condition.