Recollecting Les Darcy

Blums Touring Boxing Troupe, Boxing troupe canvas featuring Les Darcy – in boxing pose, c.1950, Mixed media, 175 x 233 cm, Purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2004 (Blum’s Boxing Troupe toured Western Australian mining towns in the 1950s. This canvas decorated one of the tent walls alongside canvases featuring other famous boxers such as Dave Sands, Micky Miller and Vic Patrick).

Born in Maitland in 1895, Les Darcy (1895 – 1917) is considered one of the best Australian boxers of all time, an Australian hero with national significance.

This exhibition showcased several pieces from MRAG’s growing collection of Les Darcy ephemera, promotional material and collectibles. Significant features of the exhibition included, exhibited for the first time, the Blooms Travelling Boxing Company tent wall, featuring Les Darcy in fighting pose. DVDs of live footage of Darcy were also presented, alongside collectibles and a new acquisition for MRAG, a hand drawn poster of Les Darcy, featuring all his boxing results. Estimated to be no more than 40 years old, this piece of fan art is testament to the enduring appeal of one of Maitland’s proudest sons. Curated by Cheryl Farrell.