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…
Continue reading » “Go back in time when artists travelled to Lone Pine for inspiration”
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…
Continue reading » “Gethsemane: Ian Fairweather’s masterwork”
Ah Xian began creating busts from live casting in the early 1990s. In his early series, such as ‘China China’, hand-painted cobalt motifs float freely across milky porcelain figures. Gradually, he felt drawn to other ancient materials — bronze, lacquer and jade — and, notably, worked on an ambitious scale in the delicate and painstaking…
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 —…
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…
Continue reading » “Go back in time to a sultry Queensland afternoon”
Arthur Loureiro’s (1853–1932) painting The spirit of the new moon 1888, on display at the Queensland Art Gallery, was inspired by the sixteenth-century epic poem Os Lusiadas by Luis Vaz de Camoes, considered one of the greatest poets from the artist’s homeland, de Camoes describes the history of Portugal from its origins to the voyage…
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.