Arthur endured army service. He met painter Yvonne Lennie, his future wife, and other artists, including Sidney Nolan, John Perceval, Joy Hester, and Albert Tucker. He exhibited with the Contemporary Art Society in Melbourne.
Arthur lived at Murrumbeena with Yvonne from 1944. He established the AMB pottery with John Perceval, Neil Douglas, and others.
On 6 March 1945 Arthur and Yvonne married. Arthur painted portraits of friends and family. The Brown Room was a meeting place for artists, poets, and philosophers. Arthur met European refugees such as artist Yosl Bergner.
Arthur’s uncle, the writer Martin Boyd, returned from Europe and commissioned Arthur to paint the Grange Mural, incorporating the biblical stories of Susannah and the Elders, The Prodigal Son, and the Assumption, at the old family home at Harkaway, outside Melbourne.
