The Peter Tyndall and Robert MacPherson Correspondence Archive 1979–2014 in the QAGOMA Research Library is the result of 35 years of exchange between these celebrated Australian artists. They began corresponding after their first meeting at Ray Hughes Gallery in Brisbane in 1979 when the artworks for Tyndall’s exhibition at the gallery were stuck in transit due…
Watch our time-lapse as Anthony Alder’s original colours are restored in Heron’s home 1895 showing the full tonal range and sharpness of colour. A final varnish layer on a finished painting has been an artistic practice for centuries. Artists often apply a transparent varnish to give saturation and their desired level of gloss to the painting,…
Continue reading » “Watch as we clean Anthony Alder’s ‘Heron’s home’”
The image of the artist working in his Bribie Island hut was taken late in Ian Fairweather’s career. Due to ill health he had virtually stopped painting by 1972. This image (illustrated), plus images taken in the 1960s show the artist working with many open tins of commercially made house paints. Paintings were either worked…
After a restless early life, in 1953 artist Ian Fairweather (1891–1974) consolidated his home and art in a hut on Bribie Island, in Brisbane’s Moreton Bay. The following 20 years saw Fairweather achieve the summation of his life’s labour as a painter and the works from this period brought him enduring fame. From his hut,…
The cleaning of paintings such as Ian Fairweather’s Head c.1955 (illustrated) is a fascinating subject. Changes in approaches to conservation practice mean that cleaning now often involves varnish removal. Traditional conservation practice commonly involves removing an old discoloured varnish from a paint layer and the changes are often visually dramatic. Natural resin varnishes such as…
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.