Anzac Square, Brisbane & the beach

For Anzac Day this year, we focus on Palms, Anzac Square, a work depicting Brisbane’s Anzac Square looking towards the War Memorial by Betty Quelhurst (17 September 1919-2008). We also profile this and other Brisbane landmarks by Quelhurst in the Gallery’s Collection alongside contemporary photography for an artists viewpoint. Focusing on recording life in Brisbane…

Go back in time when Bowen Terrace was an unquarried cliff

George Seymour Owen’s (1844-1921) watercolours provide an accurate record of the early heritage of Brisbane and the Moreton Bay area. House under Bowen Terrace, Brisbane 1889 (illustrated) of a cottage in inner-city Bowen Terrace, is a detailed representation of a home in the young township of Brisbane. The watercolour shows the unquarried cliff along which…

An essence of stillness

Embracing new visual vocabularies to better express their distinct viewpoints, many notable Australian artists broke from tradition in the 1920s and 1930s and turned to Modernism. At this time, these artists immersed themselves in geometric concepts of space and volume, rhythm and repetition, as well as illusion and flatness. On display within the Queensland Art…

Beneath Charles Blackman’s Alice in Wonderland

We take you on a journey of discovery beneath the paint surface of The Blue Alice 1956-57, uncover previously hidden details, and look at the technique and materials used by Charles Blackman. The Blue Alice is currently on display in the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) until 28 April 2024.…

Arthur Streeton: Romanticism & swimming in bush creeks

In Sir Arthur Streeton’s The bathers 1891 the artist has painted a group of four boys swimming in a creek, however under infra-red light we see there were originally more figures. Streeton (8 April 1867-1943) significantly contributed to the way Australia imagines itself, the romance and beauty of his landscapes reflects the vision for Australian…

Go back in time to 1928 when Brisbane was a growing city

On display in the Queensland Art Gallery’s Australian Art Collection, Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Galleries (10-13) Brisbane townscape 1928 (illustrated) by William Bustard (1894-1973) depicts a growing city in a construction boom establishing itself as a state capital. We look over rooftops toward Queen Street from Edward Street, to the City Hall clock tower…