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…
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Church interior c.1941-42 (illustrated) is one of Grace Cossington Smith’s most significant achievements, incorporating her major stylistic approaches and interests. It is also meaningful in terms of the artist’s personal history, as it depicts the Smith family’s place of worship, the new St James’ Anglican Church in Turramurra, Sydney, built in 1941. The painting encapsulates…
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The recent passing of Inge King AM, and Bea Maddock AM saw the loss of two significant and highly respected figures in Australian art. We commemorate these great women in the Collection. Inge King Ingeborg Viktoria (Inge) King AM (1915–2016) was a leading non-figurative sculptor in Australia for more than five decades. Born in Berlin,…
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Grace Cossington Smith (1892–1984) was one of the most inventive colour painters to emerge from Australia’s first wave of modernism in the early decades of the twentieth century. After growing up in Sydney’s northern suburbs, in 1914 Cossington Smith moved with her family to the Turramurra residence that would become her lifelong home and the…
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In 1966 oral historian Hazel de Berg asked Grace Crowley (28 May 1890-1979) to talk about her friend and colleague Ralph Balson (13 August 1890-1964). Crowley spoke of her surprise and envy at the ease with which Balson painted his first abstract works: ‘Balson I believe to have been born an abstract painter. He was…
Continue reading » “Built on each other: Grace Crowley & Ralph Balson”
After resigning from journalism cadetship at the Sydney Sun, Charles Blackman (12 August 1928-2018) hitchhiked to Brisbane in early 1948 for his first visit. He met the young artists of the Miya Studio, including Laurence Hope, Don Savage, and Laurence Collinson, and the closely affiliated group of Barjai writers, including Barrett Reid, and, most significantly,…
Continue reading » “Charles Blackman’s connection to Brisbane”
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.