Arthur received immediate critical acclaim with his first solo exhibition in August1960 at the Zwemmer Gallery, London. The exhibition mostly included paintings from the series Love, Marriage and Death of a Half Caste, more commonly known as the Bride paintings. He continued work on the Bride paintings and prints. He designed sets and costumes for Robert Helpmann’s ballet Electra. A retrospective exhibition was held at London’s Whitechapel Gallery. Mother Doris Boyd died in 1960. Arthur joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament protest.
Arthur’s work included theatre design, paintings, and ceramics. He took his first and only flight to Paris with Sidney Nolan and Barry Humphries in 1966 for a major Picasso show. Open Country was sold and an Adelaide Festival retrospective of Boyd’s work was held. The Boyds travelled to Europe, visiting Assisi, leading to the St Francis series.
Arthur signed a petition protesting about Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War- his son Jamie is of an age for service. He began the Nebuchadnezzar paintings, attributing the series to anti-war protests. Franz Phillips’ Arthur Boyd monograph was published.
In 1968, Arthur returned to Australia and travelled in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. He reviewed the collection of drawings made by his father in the last years of his life and saved from Open Country. He produced The Potter series in homage to his parents.
