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”
Few machines have altered history like the camera in the nineteenth century — photography gave ordinary people new insights, and their stories now remain preserved in treasured personal collections. The exhibition ‘Revelations’ both celebrates the historical innovations of photography and the printing press, in this the second of our two part series, we honour photography’s…
Once you’re famous there’s just no way to keep your letters out of the hands of the curious! Letters give us a humanising insight into the private world of an artist. They can provide a glimpse into their daily life, travel, friendships, moments of joy and despair as well as their creative process – that’s…
The QAGOMA Research Library holds a collection of letters, photographs and other memorabilia relating to the famously reclusive artist Ian Fairweather, who spent the last two decades of his life in a hut on Bribie Island. A new book Ian Fairweather: A Life in Letters from Text Publishing compiles several hundred of Fairweather’s letters, which…
Margaret Olley’s friendships with artists are chronicled in their pictures of her, such as William Dobell’s 1948 Archibald Prize–winning painting, works by Russell Drysdale and Jeffrey Smart and, much later, Ben Quilty’s 2011 Archibald Prize–winning portrait. No other subject has won the Archibald twice (self-portraits by Brett Whiteley and William Robinson aside), and the 63-year…
Continue reading » “Margaret Olley: A muse and artistic subject for others”
Ian Fairweather’s cryptically titled painting MO, PB and the ti-tree was first exhibited, though not for sale, at the Macquarie Galleries, Sydney in 1965, in an acclaimed exhibition that highlighted works from the ‘Drunken Buddha’ series, as well as other recent paintings. A beautiful fabric of planes [that] tremble and fluctuate, support or oppose the…
Continue reading » “Ian Fairweather commemorates Margaret Olley’s visit to Bribie Island”
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.