Harold Septimus Power (1877-1951), artist, was born on December 31, 1877 at Dunedin, New Zealand, son of Peter Power, English-born hatter, and his Scottish wife Jane, née Amers. After some art training in Melbourne he exhibited in 1899 with the Melbourne Art Club, winning both animal and landscape sections. Soon after, he moved to Adelaide where he worked as an illustrator for the Observer, the Register, the Critic and other papers. In 1904 he was commissioned by the trustees of the Art Gallery of South Australia to paint an animal picture ('After the day's toil') for 100 guineas. He married Isabel Laura Butterworth (d.1935).

In 1905-07 Power studied at the Académie Julian, Paris, then settled in London, becoming a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Oils and the Society of Animal Painters, and exhibiting at the Royal Academy of Arts. His first one-man exhibition at the Guild Hall, Melbourne, in June 1913 displayed oils and watercolors of rural landscapes, used as backdrops for scenes of equine splendor and hunting which were to remain popular with both the local and international public and critics for the next thirty years.

In 1917 Power was appointed official war artist with the Australian Imperial Force, with the honorary rank of lieutenant. His skills as an animal painter were apparent in such paintings as 'The First Divisional Artillery goes into action before Ypres July 31, 1917' which was acclaimed at the Royal Academy in 1919.

Between the wars Power lived intermittently in Melbourne and overseas. His departures from and returns to Australia were marked by significant exhibitions, usually featuring a much-praised Royal Academy work as centrepiece. He maintained his selling appeal even through the Depression when prices of five hundred guineas remained not uncommon. In 1927 he was commissioned with W. B. McInnes to paint the ceremonial opening of the Federal parliament. He executed various other State and Federal commissions including a mural, 'War', for the Public Library of Victoria in 1924.