Impressive portraits from the National Gallery of Australia – some of them on show for the first time – will be on display at The University of Queensland from Saturday.
Bushrangers, flappers and fashion icons all figure in Australian portraits: 1880–1960, a major national touring exhibition which opens at the UQ Art Museum, St Lucia on January 29.
The exhibition features 54 portraits by 34 leading Australian painters, including Tom Roberts, George W. Lambert, Grace Cossington Smith, Margaret Preston, Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale and John Brack.
Australian Portraits: 1880 – 1960 is the first major portrait exhibition mounted by the National Gallery of Australia and will tour to galleries in Victoria, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania and regional Queensland after its showing in Brisbane.
“Major Australian portraits were among the first paintings purchased for the national art collection,” said Director of the National Gallery of Australia, Ron Radford AM.
“The portrait paintings included in this exhibition are among the finest of their time. This national touring exhibition is truly national; it includes portraits by artists and of sitters from every state.”
The exhibition includes much-loved paintings from the gallery’s collection in addition to little-known works and two recently acquired pieces that haven’t been shown in public before.
“One exciting feature of the exhibition is the number of self-portraits it includes, by artists such as Hugh Ramsay, Roy de Maistre, Albert Tucker and Ian Fairweather,” said Acting Director of the UQ Art Museum Michele Helmrich.
The UQ Art Museum holds a unique collection of Australian artists’ self-portraits, and also hosts a biennial self-portrait prize.
Ms Helmrich said the exhibition showed the distinctive developments in Australian portraiture over time and also the international influences that had shaped the art form.
Australian portraits: 1880–1960 will be complemented by a diverse program of talks and special events with a full colour 160-page catalogue also available for purchase. The exhibition is curated by National Gallery of Australia Head of Australian Art Anna Gray and is part of the gallery's extensive program of sharing the national collection with the whole of Australia.
In advance of the official opening, a media preview will be held at noon on Friday, January 28. In attendance will be Director of the National Gallery of Australia Ron Radford AM, and Acting Director of the UQ Art Museum Michele Helmrich.
High-resolution exhibition images are available for download here.
Media: Local media – Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au). National media – Kirsten Downie at National Gallery of Australia (0407 523 948, 02 6240 6643, kirsten.downie@nga.gov.au)
Tour dates
• UQ Art Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 29 January – 27 March 2011
• Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, 9 April – 10 July 2011
• Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, Vic., 23 July – 4 September 2011
• Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tas., 17 September – 20 November 2011
• Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre, Gymea, NSW, 3 December 2011 – 29 January 2012
• Gladstone Regional Art Gallery, Gladstone, Qld, 11 February – 12 May 2012
The exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians; and Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia. Its exhibition partner is the National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund and media partner is ABC Local Radio.
