Australian artist Hilda Rix Nicholas (1884-1961) made a significant contribution to art in the period between the First and Second World Wars, fusing a nationalist sentiment with her technical insights into French impressionism and post-impressionism. Born in Ballarat in 1884, from 1902-05 Hilda Rix studied at the Melbourne National Gallery School under Frederick McCubbin. Arthur…
Continue reading » “‘Two soldiers’ emphasises wartime comradery”
The time Charles Blackman (1928-2018 ) spent in Queensland was central to his development as one of the most important Australian artists of his generation. It was during his early visits to Brisbane first in 1948 and then regularly from 1951, that the artist experienced the sense of intense personal discovery that was to launch…
Continue reading » “Interior view encapsulates Charles Blackman’s new love and muse”
Together with drawing, watercolour was most often the medium of choice for documenting the early years of settlement in Queensland, especially to depict the landscape, chosen for its ability to record fine detail, evoking atmosphere, and most favoured for its portability and convenience. In this watercolour Farm landscape with colonial homestead 1888 Robert S (Saunder)…
Continue reading » “Go back in time with early Brisbane watercolours”
Rose Simmonds’ photography has an important position in the Queensland Pictorialist photography movement. Emerging directly from the International Pictorialist movement which began in England and France at the end of the nineteenth century, local practitioners of this style continued to work in a manner which encouraged the acceptance of photography as a valid art-form. To…
Continue reading » “A nostalgia for Queensland’s pastoral past”
Australian artist Jeffrey Smart (1921-2013) is one of Australia’s most celebrated artists, seeking inspiration from the world around him. Smart portrays the sinister cheerfulness and bright sterility of a modern, progressive, industrial society with gem like clarity and precision. Early in his painting career he found a particular personal vision of the world and carefully refined…
Continue reading » “Mysterious and mundane: The art of Jeffrey Smart”
Australian artist Yasmin Smith is known for her research-based ceramic installations that formally and chromatically evoke the landscape from which they are produced. As part of her investigative method, Smith gathers natural materials and, through analysis, determines how she can harness their chemical properties. Key to the artist’s process is burning plant material as a…
Continue reading » “Ceramic installations evoke the landscape from which they are produced”
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.