Done dropped out of high school at the age of 14 to study at the ‘National Art School’ in East Sydney. After his education, he started working with ‘J. Walter Thompson’, an advertising agency based in New York and London. He returned to Sydney in 1969, and became a full-time artist in 1975.

Done’s illustration career spans over 50 years, working from his gallery in The Rocks, Sydney. His works have been shown in the ‘Archibald’, ‘Sulman’, ‘Wynne’, ‘Bloke’, and ‘Dobell’ prizes. Amongst other major commissions and collections, Done has created pieces for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, painted a BMW Artcar, and decorated the Garden Restaurant at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

Ken Done has been considered an outsider of the Australian art world. Other than the ‘National Portrait Gallery’, no national art institution features a Ken Done painting. Despite this, Done’s popularity skyrocketed in the 1980’s, with almost every household owning some sort of Done merchandise or artwork. ‘Done Art and Design Corporation’, a multi-national and multi-million dollar company, with shops all over Australia and world-wide, successfully promotes Australian art to a global audience.

In 1993, Ken Done and his wife Judy, who is a fashion designer, won the Fashion Industries of Australia’s ‘Grand Award for Fashion’. Done also received the ‘Order of Australia’ (AM), for services to Art, Design and Tourism in 1992.