Arthur Boyd, Australia 1920-1999 / The lady and the unicorn (portfolio) 1975

The Lady and the Unicorn, a story of love and betrayal

The series The Lady and the Unicorn 1975 (illustrated) are powerful and dreamlike etchings by Arthur Boyd (1920–99) which reveal his mastery of the medium couched in a story of love and betrayal. Boyd is celebrated for his paintings, but he is also recognised as a significant and innovative printmaker. Some of his best series…

Bernard Hall, Lady with sponge 1922

Dreamlike & evocative is the Lady with sponge

Lady with sponge (illustrated) is a striking, intriguing work by artist Lindsay Bernard Hall (1859–1935) whose skill as an artist was often overshadowed by his other significant achievements. Hall was an artist, teacher and director of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne from 1892 to 1933. Hall is noted for his interiors and…

William Dobell, Australia 1899-1970 / The Cypriot 1940

William Dobell’s ‘The Cypriot’ shares its secrets

William Dobell (1899-1970) is an artist recognised for his portraits and for often embellishing his sitter’s appearance to draw out their most distinctive traits. The model for The Cypriot 1940 was Aegus Gabrielides, a Greek Cypriot waiter who worked in a London café frequented by Dobell and his fellow Slade School students in the 1930s. Go…

Aleks Danko, Australia b.1950 / DAY IN DAY OUT (second version) 1991

Aleks Danko: What time is it?

DAY IN DAY OUT (second version) 1991 by Aleks Danko has recently been installed in the reimagining of the Australian collection at the Queensland Art Gallery. This important and enduringly captivating work is for the first time, given a place in a ‘permanent hang’ of the Australian collection in a context which is both diverse…

Dale Harding working on his commission onsite at the Queensland Art Gallery

Dale Harding discusses his incredible year

Dale Harding graduated from the Queensland College of Art in 2014, yet his opportunities and achievements since speak to a much longer practice, indeed a ‘cultural continuum’ to which he is connected through country. His artwork includes wall murals, sculpture and installations which are an exploration of the political histories and presence of his family…

Australian art, Fiona Foley, Australia b.1964, Badtjala woman 1994

We use art to question what we know

Telling the Story of Australian Art in new and innovative ways Swedish-born artist Oscar Friström’s Duramboi 1893 depicts James Davis, a young convict sent from Scotland to Australia. Davis escaped from a Moreton Bay penal colony in 1829 and lived with several Indigenous groups in the area, particularly on Fraser Island (where he was known as…