The NZ Series #22 - Austen Deans

Not a beret, in the correct sense of the word, but Austen Deans balmoral comes close. 
Deans graduated from the (NZ) Canterbury School of Art in 1939 and then spent six years overseas with army.

First as a war artist in Egypt for two years, the remaining four years as a prisoner of war.  After his return to NZ, he worked on farms while continuing to paint. 
A war bursary enabled him to study at London University's Art School  for 2 years, after which he settled in the Peel Forest, Canterbury (NZ), where he still lives and works (at 96!).

Favourite subjects are mountains and the bush.