Educated at the University of Otago (1926–29) and the University of Cambridge (1931–33), Trendall was professionally associated with the University of Sydney and Australian National University. He was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Master of University House at the latter institution.^[1] From 1969 until his death he was Resident Fellow at La Trobe University in Melbourne.^[2]

In January 1940, with the encouragement of the Australian Army, Trendall, together with some colleagues at the University of Sydney, began to study Japanese codes. The others were the mathematicians Thomas Gerald Room and Richard Lyons and the classicist Athanasius Treweek. In May 1941 Room and Treweek attended a meeting at the Victoria Barracks in Melbourne with the Director of Naval Intelligence of the Royal Australian Navy, several Australian Army intelligence officers and Eric Nave, an expert Japanese cryptographer with the Royal Australian Navy. As a result it was agreed that Room's group, with the agreement of the University of Sydney, would move in August 1941 to work under Nave at the Special Intelligence Bureau in Melbourne. After the outbreak of war they were working for FRUMEL (Fleet Radio Unit Melbourne), a joint American-Australian intelligence unit, but when Lieutenant Rudolph Fabian took over command of FRUMEL and particularly when, in October 1942, FRUMEL was placed under direct control of the US Navy, civilians such as the member of Room's group were found surplus to requirements and returned to their academic posts.^[3][4]

In the New Years Honours of 1961, Trendall was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), in recognition of his service as "Vice-Chancellor" of the Australian National University.^[5]

On 20 July 1961 he was appointed Cavaliere Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.^[6]

In the Australia Day Honours of 1976, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia.^[6]

• Paestan Pottery. A Study of the Red-Figured Vases of Paestum (London 1936)
• Frühitaliotische Vasen. Bilder griechischer Vasen 12 (Leipzig 1938)
• Vasi antichi dipinti del Vaticano. Vasi italioti ed etruschi a figure rosse (Città del Vaticano 1953)
• Phlyax vases. 2. ed. (London 1967) (University of London. Institute of Classical Studies. Bulletin supplements, 19)
• The red-figured vases of Lucania, Campania and Sicily [2 Bde.] (Oxford 1967) (University of London. Institute of Classical Studies. Bulletin supplements, 26)
• with T. B. L. Webster: Illustrations of Greek drama (London 1971)
• Early South Italian vase-painting. Revised 1973 (Mainz 1974)
• The red-figured vases of Apulia, 1. Early and Middle Apulian (Oxford 1978)
• The red-figured vases of Apulia, 2. Late Apulian. Indexes (Oxford 1982)
• The red-figured vases of Lucania, Campania and Sicily. Third supplement. Consolidated (London 1983) (University of London. Institute of Classical Studies. Bulletin supplements, 41)
• with Alexander Cambitoglou: First supplement to the red-figured vases of Apulia (London 1983) (University of London. Institute of Classical Studies. Bulletin supplements, 42)
• with Ian McPhee: Greek red-figured fish-plates (Basel 1987) (Antike Kunst. Beihefte, 14)
• The red-figured vases of Paestum (Rom 1987)
• Red figure vases of South Italy and Sicily. A handbook. London, Thames and Hudson 1989 = Rotfigurige Vasen aus Unteritalien und Sizilien. Ein Handbuch. Mainz, Zabern 1991. ISBN 3-8053-1111-7
• with Ian McPhee: Addenda to "Greek red-figured fish-plates". In: Antike Kunst 33 (1990) 31–51
• with Alexander Cambitoglou: Second supplement to the red-figured vases of Apulia, 1–3 (London 1991–92) (University of London. Institute of Classical Studies. Bulletin supplements, 60)
• Myth, Drama and Style in South Italian Vase-Painting. Selected Papers by A.D. Trendall, edited by Ian McPhee. (Astrom Editions, PB 182, Uppsala, 2016)

• Ian McPhee, 'Arthur Dale Trendall 1909–1995. A Memoir', Proceedings of the British Academy, 97 (1998), 501–517. Reprinted in Myth, Drama and Style in South Italian Vase Painting, edited by Ian McPhee, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology PB 182 (Astrom Editions, 2016).
• Alexander Cambitoglou (ed.), Studies in honour of Arthur Dale Trendall (Sydney, 1979).
• 'Arthur Dale Trendall. Bibliography 1934–1987', in Greek colonists and native populations, Proceedings of the First Australian Congress of Classical Archaeology, Sydney 9–14 July 1985 (Canberra 1990) 649–655.
• The Times (London), 4. December 1995.
• John Richard Green, Ian McPhee, '"Kein Wort von ihnen, schau und geh vorüber": Zum Tod von Arthur Dale Trendall', Antike Welt 27 (1996) 67–68.
• Henri Metzger, 'Arthur Dale Trendall, 1909 – 1995', Revue archéologique 1996, 411–413.
• L. Cozza Luzi, 'Arthur Dale Trendall, 1909–1995', Atti della Pontificia academia romana di Archeologia. Rendiconti 70 (1997–98) 321–322.

• A.D. Trendall Research Centre for Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University