Go back in time when artists travelled to Lone Pine for inspiration

When Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was established in 1927 by Claude Reid as a safe refuge for sick, injured, and orphaned koalas, it was the first such sanctuary of its kind, beginning with just two called Jack and Jill, since then it has grown from these original koalas to over 70 species of Australian…

Ian Fairweather, Gethsemane 1958

Gethsemane: Ian Fairweather’s masterwork

In his lifetime, Ian Fairweather (29 September 1891–1974) — one of Australia’s greatest artists who painted some of his most celebrated works here in Queensland, on Bribie Island — created two masterworks relating to stories of Christ’s life: the occasion of Christ’s birth which he painted in 1962, titled Epiphany (illustrated), purchased by the Gallery…

Drowned Mercedes

The exhibition ‘Michael Zavros: The Favourite’ at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane until 2 October features the ambitious new sculpture Drowned Mercedes 2023 (illustrated), for which Michael Zavros has filled the cabin of a classic 1990s Mercedes-Benz SL convertible with water. Buy TicketsYour ticket to ‘Michael Zavros: The Favourite’ provides entry to two…

Isaac Walter Jenner: A force in Brisbane’s cultural life

The exhibition ‘A Feeling for Light’ at the Queensland Art Gallery from 2 September 2023 until 28 January 2024, explores the evocative paintings of Isaac Walter Jenner (1836–1902), a self-taught marine and landscape painter. Following his arrival in Brisbane in 1883 (illustrated), Jenner spent the last two decades of his life as a major force…

Wattles in flower

As we celebrate National Wattle Day on the first day of September each year, we delve into two works that include the wattle — with over 1,000 species of acacia Australia-wide, it’s the nation’s largest family of flowering plants. While the flowering times of wattle vary greatly depending on the region, Australia’s national flower —…

Go back in time to a sultry Queensland afternoon

Throughout the 1920s and 30s Queensland artists painted outdoors, their subject matter ranged widely from the beach, the bush, to the city. Vida Lahey was no exception, however during the early 30s Lahey was absorbed by sites around Brisbane and in 1931 painted Sultry noon focusing on the architecture of Brisbane’s Central Railway Station and…