The genesis of Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s painting lies in a range of experiences and custodial obligations she shared with other women in caring for Country and presiding over the transference of law – one ‘grows up’ the land as one ‘grows up’ children.1 Her genius, however, stems f
Charles Blackman’s schoolgirl paintings of 1953 brought the artist to the fore of Australian art in a forthright and positive way. Seemingly from nowhere, a new artist was on the scene, producing work that was striking, memorable and worthy of critical recognition. Blackman might have been j
Jeffrey Smart enjoyed playing the trickster. He approached a major picture as an opportunity to conduct sly games with compositional design and geometry while passing wry comments on modern city life. Carefully developed then impeccably painted, this is why the best of his mature oils are mo
There are times when Brett Whiteley’s paintings are unusually lyrical. Certainly, Whiteley is one of Australia’s most lyrical artists, generally in the free use of his easy, languorous lines particularly when they describe a curve, an arm, a thigh or a tree trunk. However, in paintings such
Sidney Nolan’s standing as Australia’s most significant modernist painter is universally recognised –demonstrated most recently by the landmark retrospective exhibition curated by Barry Pearce for the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2007.
Central to this exhibition was, of course
During the mid-twentieth century, a new generation of artists initiated a radical departure from the prevailing traditions of Australian painting. Leaving behind the radiant foreshores and golden pastures of the Heidelberg School, Sidney Nolan (1917-1992), Arthur Boyd (1920-1999) and Russell
When a vast horde of dancers wearing Ned Kelly helmets rushed onto the field for the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, it was clear that Sidney Nolan held a dominant position in Australian art history, and indeed in the Australian imagination. From the late 1930s until his d
Rick Amor first began to paint Melbourne with regularity during the 1990s, before the days of small bars, tattooed baristas and council-sanctioned street art. It was an era characterised by economic stagnation, muscular unionism, a heroin crisis and emerging gangland conflict. Though written
Garry Shead’s Royal Suite of paintings have become iconic images of their time. The works refer to a bygone innocence of Australian culture and society providing a glimpse of the reality which was realised much later, a reality where the Aboriginal people were marginalised and Australian sov
When Brett Whiteley sat down to create his drawing of magnolia flowers in 1980 he was at the very peak of his career. In the second half of the preceding decade he had scooped the pool in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes and was creating sell-out exhibitions, seemingly without end. Col