Arthur Boyd never wore a belt because he believed that it would restrict his circulation. Even such a small detail says something about his essential difference from others. His Christian Science upbringing was fundamental and it instilled in him a strong work ethic and a self-belief that su

Sir Russell Drysdale was one of Australia’s most remarkable artists. He held seventeen solo exhibitions and participated in fifty-five group exhibitions. Drysdale’s works are rare and his output was comparatively low as he produced fewer than three hundred paintings. However, his undoubted a

When John Brack painted his first series of nudes, which he exhibited in 1957, he had already formulated his attitude to the subject; he noted at the time: “When I paint a woman … I am not interested in how she looks sitting in the studio, but how she looks at all times, in all lights, what

Jeffrey Smart’s work belongs to a golden era of Australian painting, and his career runs parallel to the best known names of Australian modern art. Unlike his contemporaries Sidney Nolan (1917-1992), Arthur Boyd (1920-1999), John Perceval (1923-2000), Albert Tucker (1914-1999), Brett Whitele

A Choir for Christabel 1972, is a little-known family portrait that depicts Charles Blackman’s daughter singing in their New South Wales home. Christabel had recently taken up piano lessons and music was becoming more and more important in her life, as well as that of her father’s.

In 1988, Ginger Riley exhibited along with fellow Ngukurr artists in the community’s first commercial show, startling visitors with their striking bold compositions and brilliant colour. At the opening, Riley was asked by a journalist why his sea eagle was green and not white. ‘It looks bett

A Warlpiri artist Maggie Watson Napangardi (formerly Napangardi Ross) was born at Yuendumu in the Tanami Desert, 300 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs. Within her community Maggie was one of the pioneers in painting the traditional designs of her people using western painting materials o

The later works of Fred Cress provide a fascinating line of commentary and satire on the theme of man as a social animal. They show in all their richness and perversity an unfolding narrative of the interactions of men and women engaged in the game of life. The art

The art dealer Ray Hughes once declared that ‘everyone wants to be Ken Whisson’s Captain Cook.’¹ As the artist explains, ‘I’m discovered and forgotten and discovered and forgotten and it will go on for the rest of my life I imagine.  And so each time it will be a great joy to

Tim Maguire’s intense and highly disciplined explorations into the practice of painting include the artist’s colour separation series which echoes digital printing techniques, and the trompe l’oeil effects of his Slit paintings inspired by the slash paintings of noted Italian artist Lucio Fo