Native to the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia, the call of the laughing kookaburra is recognised by all, and just happens to be LJ Harvey’s favourite bird. During his career, Lewis Jarvis (LJ) Harvey (1871-1949) produced several carved screens (or room-dividers) to protect the face of someone sitting by a fire — and our screen…
Continue reading » “LJ Harvey: A distinctively Australian style”
QAGOMA’s immersive digital experience animates and illuminates the significance of tow row 2016, the bronze fishing net sculpture by leading Queensland artist Judy Watson on permanent display at the entrance to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). Watson was born in Mundubbera in south-east Queensland and the spirit of much of her work stems from…
Continue reading » “Experience Judy Watson’s ‘tow row’ in digital reality”
National Wattle Day was first celebrated in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia on 1 September 1910, then in Western Australia and Queensland in 1912. Wattle had become a symbol of Australian national identity from Federation — becoming one nation — the Commonwealth of Australia, on 1 January 1901. Branches of wattle then featured…
Continue reading » “Wattle: From the illustrations of May Gibbs to Ellis Rowan’s watercolours”
Richard John Randall (1869-1906) was a Brisbane based artist known for his watercolours and paintings of Australian landscapes. After studying abroad from 1891 and exhibiting at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he returned to Brisbane in 1899 and established his own residence and art studio at Cordelia Street in South Brisbane. He also…
Continue reading » “Go back in time to Brisbane’s Randall Art Gallery”
Once upon a time… there was a Golden Book of Gifts… Imagine our surprise when The Wolfsonian–Florida International University Library in Miami Beach, Florida contacted the QAGOMA Research Library seeking information on the John Darnell Bequest and an item in their collection The Golden Book of Gifts. Delving into the Library archives revealed a strange…
In 1957, artist James Gleeson, then art critic at The Sun newspaper, wrote that the paintings of Ian Fairweather (1891-1974) would never last.1 Reputedly using whatever materials came to hand within his itinerant lifestyle, the paintings of Fairweather are renowned as much for their fragility as their beauty, and this is part of their appeal.…
Continue reading » “Go behind-the-scenes as we conserve Ian Fairweather’s paintings”
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.