UQ Art Museum Public Programs Dr Nancy Underhill 'To Honour the Dead: Sidney Nolan's Gallipoli paintings'.
Event Details
- Date:
- Thursday, 11 November 2010
- Time:
- 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
- UQ Location:
- James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre (St Lucia)
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Ms Gillian Ridsdale
- Phone:
- 67793
- Email:
- g.ridsdale@uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- The University of Queensland Art Museum
Event Description
- Full Description:
- (Please note one minute silence will be observed before the start of this lecture to remember those who died or suffered for Australia's cause in all wars and armed conflicts).
11 November has, coincidentally, proved to be an eventful day in Australian history. On 11 November 1880, the legendary bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged at Melbourne. Thirty-eight years later, on 11 November 1918, the armistice formally ending the First World War was signed. Now commemorated as Remembrance Day, this year, 11 November will be marked by a public lecture. Nancy Underhill will examine some of the ways Nolan’s paintings interrelate with his own life. Both Nolan’s Kelly paintings, and the series he made relating to Gallipoli and the First World War, have autobiographical references. Nolan was happy to hint at these, but loath to elaborate. Underhill will discuss these references, as well as the various sources and travel experiences the artist drew on for the Gallipoli paintings, which he subsequently donated to the Australian War Memorial.
Dr Nancy Underhill was Foundation Head of the Department of Art History at The University of Queensland, and the inaugural Director of the UQ Art Museum. She developed and taught the first full-year undergraduate course on Australian art offered in Australia. Dr Underhill is the author of 'Making Australian art 1916–1949' (c.1991) and co-editor of the 'Letters of John Reed: Defining Australian cultural life 1920–1981' (2001). Reed and his wife Sunday were Nolan’s patrons and he began painting the Kelly series while living at their property, ‘Heide’, on the outskirts of Melbourne. Dr Underhill also edited 'Nolan on Nolan: Sidney Nolan in his own words' (2007), enjoyed a fruitful association with Sidney Nolan, and has an ongoing relationship with the Nolan family. They have given her access to a rich family archive, which is the basis of the Nolan biography that she is writing.
Free. All welcome.
Refreshments served after the talk.
RSVP acceptances 9 November
artmuseum@uq.edu.au 07 3365 3046
Sidney Nolan (1917–1992) was one of Australia’s most complex, innovative, and prolific artists. In 1978 Nolan presented the 'Gallipoli' series to the Australian War Memorial. These 252 drawings and paintings, completed over a 20-year period, were donated in memory of his brother Raymond, a soldier who died in a tragic accident just before the end of World War II. Gallipoli was a theme to which Nolan returned throughout his artistic career. 'Sidney Nolan: the Gallipoli series' showcases a selection of these works, which constitute both a personal and public lament. They commemorate not just the death of Nolan’s brother, but also a campaign that cost so many Australian lives. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity for visitors to experience these works.
Curators: Lola Wilkins and Laura Webster, Australian War Memorial
Exhibition continues until 14 November
An Australian War Memorial travelling exhibition
Directions to UQ
- Google Map:
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- Directions:
- St Lucia Campus | Gatton campus.
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