2012.Q1 | Artonview 69 Autumn 2012

N AT I O N A L G A L L E RY O F A U S T R A L I A , C A N B E R R A

AUTUMN 2012 | 69

AUTUMN 2012 | 69

RENAISSANCE

11 May – 22 July 2012 nga.gov.au

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2ND NATIONAL INDIGENOUS ART TRIENNIAL EUGENE VON GUERARD PLAY

Danie Mellor Mamu/Ngagen/Ngajan peoples Welcome to the Lucky Country 2009, on loan from artist and private lender

Jacopo Bassano Madonna and Child with the young Saint John the Baptist c 1542, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, bequest of Mario Frizzoni, 1966

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Published quarterly by the National Gallery of Australia, PO Box 1150, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia artonview.editor@nga.gov.au | nga.gov.au

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© National Gallery of Australia 2012

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Copyright of works of art is held by the artists or their estates. Apart from uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of Artonview may be reproduced, transmitted or copied without the prior permission of the National Gallery of Australia.

EXHIBITIONS

EDITOR Eric Meredith DESIGNER Kristin Thomas PHOTOGRAPHY by the National Gallery of Australia Photography Department unless otherwise stated RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Nick Nicholson PRINTER Blue Star Print, Melbourne PREVIOUS ISSUES nga.gov.au/Artonview ISSN 1323‑4552 PRINT POST APPROVED pp255003/00078 RRP A$9.95 | FREE TO MEMBERS MEMBERSHIP membership@nga.gov.au nga.gov.au/Members TEL (02) 6240 6528 FAX (02) 6270 6480 WARNING Artonview may contain the names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased.

The Madonna and Child in Renaissance art Lucina Ward

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New discoveries: von Guérard in search of nature Ruth Pullin

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ENQUIRIES copyright@nga.gov.au Produced by the National Gallery of Australia Publishing Department

Director’s word

Being contemporary: an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition Carly Lane

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The art of play Sarina Noordhuis-Fairfax

FEATURES

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Masterpieces for the Nation Fund 2012: the master of Arnhem Land bark painting, Yirawala Tina Baum

ACQUISITIONS

24 William Duke Hohepa Te Umuroa 26 The Kimberley, Western Australia Riji 27 Ricardo Idagi Giri Giri Le (Paradise Man) Marou Mimi 28 Janet Dawson The origin of the Milky Way and St George and the Dragon 30 Eric Thake Brownout 31 Milton Rogovin photographs 32 Edward William Godwin Anglo-Japanese tea table with folding shelves 33 Vanuatu Chubwan REGULARS

34 Travelling exhibitions 36 Creative partnerships 37 News from the Foundation 38 Thank you … 40 Members news (cover) Neroccio de’ Landi Madonna and Child c 1470–75 tempera and gold on wood panel 58 x 43.5 cm Accademia Carrara, Bergamo bequest of Giovanni Morelli, 1891

Director’s word Renaissance has unsurprisingly proved extremely popular over summer, attracting people from all over Australia and from all walks of life to Canberra to see this truly not-to-be-missed exhibition. These 15thand 16th-century Italian paintings from the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo have never left Europe before. Among them we see the genius of Botticelli, Bellini, Raphael and Titian as well as the highly accomplished Vivirani, Perugino, Carpaccio, Lotto, Bassano and Moroni.

There has never before been an exhibition in Australia devoted to Italian painting of the 15th and 16th centuries, and it is important because Italian Renaissance art is the foundation of European painting.

We are extremely pleased to be able to present these paintings to an Australian audience with the invaluable support of the City of Bergamo and its Pinacoteca Accademia Carrara and our major sponsors, particularly San Remo and the Australian and ACT governments.

At the exhibition launch on 8 December 2011, Claudia Sartirani, the Councillor for Culture and Entertainment from Bergamo, spoke about the importance of the exhibition in strengthening the relationship and deepening the understanding between our two countries. The exhibition also underpins the significant contributions the Italian community has made in Australia over many generations. The Gallery’s Exhibition Partner, the South Australian-based company San Remo,

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founded in 1936 by the Crotti family, is one such example.

In this issue of Artonview, Lucina Ward focuses on a specific and important theme in the Renaissance, the Madonna and Child.

The changing depictions of the Madonna and Child during the Renaissance not only reveal developments in religious iconography but also an increased emphasis on familiar bonds—as the relationship between mother and child became softer, more maternal and relatable.

Renaissance continues the Gallery’s commitment to bringing to Australia significant works of art from major international collections. The exhibition will be on display until the end of Easter, 9 April 2012.

Later in April, Eugene von Guérard: nature revealed will open across two of our galleries, the Orde Poynton Gallery on level one and the Project Gallery on level two. This touring retrospective from the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, is particularly significant to National Gallery of Australia because the brilliance of von Guérard was first revealed in an exhibition put together by the National Gallery of Australia over 30 years ago. The National Gallery of Australia also has the largest collection of the artist's works.

Eugene von Guérard: nature revealed includes works from numerous collections around Australia. The exhibition illuminates guest curator Ruth Pullin’s recent research on von Guérard, who is considered

Australia’s most important colonial painter after 1850.

The long-awaited second National Indigenous Art Triennial also opens during autumn, on 11 May, as we approach winter.

This important exhibition, unDisclosed, continues the work of the inaugural triennial in tracing the trajectory of recent Indigenous art in Australia by highlighting the work of living artists from the past few years. It presents the vision of guest Indigenous curator Carly Lane, equally emphasising aspects of the known and the unknown in contemporary Indigenous art from across the nation.

The second triennial also marks a strengthening of the partnership between the Gallery and Wesfarmers. In 2010, to support the professional development of Indigenous people within the arts, we together started the Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship program.

Now, Wesfarmers have become the Gallery’s Indigenous Art Partner by providing further support to the Gallery’s Indigenous programs, including the National Indigenous Art Triennial.

For the first time, an Aboriginal bark painting has been selected for the Masterpieces for the Nation Fund. The work, Kundaagi—red plains kangaroo 1962, is

by Kunwinjku artist Yirawala (c 1901–1976), who is widely recognised as the master of Arnhem Land bark painting and the father of much recent bark painting. Yirawala’s significance within Australian art was

Ron Radford, Director of the National Gallery, and Rupert Myer, Chairman of the National Gallery’s Council, at the opening of Renaissance: 15th and 16th century Italian paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, 8 December 2011.

first recognised by the Gallery when a number of his barks were collected in 1976, following a policy to represent in-depth the work of the nation’s most important artists. This particular bark painting stands out among Yirawala’s other works in the national collection and will add greatly to our representation of this exceptional Australian artist. Kundaagi—red plains kangaroo must be considered one of his most remarkable works and, with the help of generous Australians, it will have a permanent position on the walls of our Indigenous galleries.

Among the recent acquisitions of Australian art is one of particular note, William Duke’s 1846 portrait of the famous Maori political prisoner Te Umuroa Hohepa, who was sent to Hobart after a failed resistance against settlers in New Zealand. Duke was a significant Tasmanian colonial painter and this strong portrait is now part of our display of art from colonial Tasmania from between the 1830s and 1850s. It was purchased with the assistance of the Catherine Frohlich Memorial Fund.

Other Australian works recently collected include Eric Thake’s haunting painting of the impact of the Second World War on urban Australia. Thake is not well represented in the collection and this is one of his masterpieces. Former Council member the late Ann Lewis AO left the Gallery two stunning and pioneering Colour Field paintings by Janet Dawson.

The Gallery had been interested in

acquiring these paintings for some time.

A large group of carved riji (pearl shell) made by Aboriginal artists in the Kimberley in the 1950s and 1960s and an exquisite mask by accomplished Torres Strait Islander artist Ricardo Idagi have also been acquired.

The Gallery’s strong collection of American social documentary photography has received a significant infusion with a gift from American benefactor David Knaus of 45 works by twentieth-century photographer Milton Rogovin. From Britain, an 1872 Anglo-Japanese style tea table by Edward William Godwin expands on our furniture collections; and an exceptionally old and intriguing wooden mask has greatly improved our representation of the Melanesian nation of Vanuatu.

In the last week of January, over 300 teachers from pre-school to tertiary levels as well as artists and educators from museums and galleries gathered in Canberra for the 2012 National Visual Arts Education Conference. The National Gallery of Australia was the proud co-host, alongside the National Portrait Gallery, of this important event organised in collaboration with Art Education Australia. The three‑day conference included many panels and workshops. The Hon Peter Garrett AM, MP, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, gave the opening address and keynote speakers included Graeme Sullivan, Tim Rollins, Hossein Valamanesh and Fiona Foley (Foley is also

one of the 20 artists in the second National Indigenous Art Triennial, which opens at the Gallery on 11 May).

Rupert Myer’s term as Chairman of the National Gallery’s Council ends on 18 March 2012. Rupert Myer joined the Council in 2003 and was appointment as Chairman at the end of 2005. From the beginning, he proved very committed to developing the National Gallery of Australia as a premier international institution and arts venue and to the continued strategic growth of the national art collection.

He has provided strong leadership in an important time in the Gallery’s history, especially with the extensive refurbishment of the galleries and the massive building of Stage 1. His generous and amiable nature has also made him popular among staff and Gallery members. He and his family have also been extremely generous donors and sponsors to the Gallery. We join as one in expressing our gratitude to Rupert Myer for his years of devoted service to the National Gallery of Australia.

Ron Radford AM

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Bartolomeo Vivarini’s Polyptych of the Madonna and Child, Saints Peter and Michael, the Trinity and angels (Scanzo polyptych) 1488 in Renaissance: 15th and 16th century Italian paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 24 January 2012.

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Ambrogio Bergognone Madonna lactans c 1485 oil and gold on wood panel 61.6 x 44.6 cm Accademia Carrara, Bergamo legacy of Guglielmo Lochis, 1866

THE MADONNA AND CHILD IN RENAISSANCE ART Renaissance: 15th and 16th century Italian paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo until 9 April 2012 | renaissance.nga.gov.au Lucina Ward explores, through the exemplary 15th- and 16th- century Italian paintings featured in the exhibition Renaissance, some of the most significant developments to one of the most popular subjects of Renaissance art.

The Madonna and Child, alone or surrounded by saints and adoring angels, is one of the most constant images in Western art. This subject is extensively explored in the National Gallery of Australia’s current exhibition Renaissance.

The exhibition reveals how formal, hieratic depictions of the Madonna as the Queen of Heaven were gradually replaced by naturalistic images of a mother and her child in which the relationship between the pair was emphasised by touch or glance. Increasingly, landscapes were used instead of backgrounds of plain gold leaf.

Domestic interiors and everyday objects were incorporated. As well as exploring these innovations, Renaissance suggests the importance of regional diversity, and the dominance of artistic centres such as Florence, Siena, Venice and Bergamo.

The cult of the Virgin in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw Mary cast as the Queen of Heaven, the personification of the Church, the bride of Christ.

The National Gallery’s Jacopo di Cione painting Enthroned Madonna and Child

with saints 1367, included in the exhibition, is a beautiful example of an earlier Gothic tradition and precursor to the works from the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo. In it, the Madonna is depicted regally, seated front-on, with the saints, angels and their halos incorporated into the embellishments.

Cosmè Tura’s and Neroccio de’ Landi’s paintings retain some elements of this earlier style.

Tura was the principal artist at Ferrara, and produced a great range of work in response to the refined humanism and intellectualism of the court of Borso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. As well as his sculptural and calligraphic paintings, Tura is known for his frescoes, manuscripts, coins, textiles, armour and jewellery. His Madonna and Child c 1460–65 is remarkable for the way the Virgin is portrayed as an elegant court lady, complete with plucked forehead, stylised curls, exaggerated neck and fluid drapery. Like many other panels in the exhibition, Tura’s was once part of a larger work with the Madonna and Child flanked by saints.

Neroccio’s Madonna and Child c 1470–75 also straddles the Gothic and Early Renaissance periods and is, to a certain extent, a product of both. This panel was probably intended for private devotion.

By placing the figures at the front of the picture frame, physically close to the viewer, the artist suggests a sense of immediacy, heightened emotion and direct connection to the sacred. Neroccio’s painting retains its original carved frame, an intrinsic part of the work. His rich materials—the gold ground and mineral pigments used to convey flesh—today remain largely as they were when the work was first painted more than 500 years ago. Mary’s robe, on the other hand, has faded and her once blue mantle now looks almost black; consequently, the expanse of gold and black seems to negate the carefully modelled forms of the figures. Both Neroccio in Siena and Tura in Ferrara used tempera on panel but, as the exhibition shows, artists soon began to use oil paint, first on wood and later on canvas, to achieve a greater level of realism.

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The Madonna and Child became a key subject for private devotion during the Renaissance, in smaller works for domestic use and on portable altarpieces. New forms such as the Madonna of Humility and the Madonna lactans, or nursing Madonna, emphasised Mary’s humanity and bodily form. Images of the Virgin breastfeeding the Christ Child were popular, and the exhibition includes several examples. The Piedmont painter Ambrogio Bergognone’s Madonna lactans c 1485 is highly informal and naturalistic. The artist combined the vignette of a mother breastfeeding her child with the topography of a rural setting. A wealth of detail demonstrates the influence of northern European art: the drapery of the Madonna’s robe, her enamel-like skin and the rather strangely shaped Child are reminiscent of Flemish and French painting.

Many Italian artists in the second half of the fifteenth century adopted the new medium of oil paint, a technique learnt from Flanders and Germany. The exquisite

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Madonna and Child (Alzano Madonna) c 1488 demonstrates why Giovanni Bellini was one of its earliest masters. Like other Venetian artists, Bellini was renowned for his brilliant use of colour. His tender Virgin is draped in folds of gorgeous blue, the yellow of the fruit below providing a counterpoint. A highly detailed landscape populated with pilgrims, horsemen and gondoliers, with distant castles, is seen either side of the Madonna and Child. An ornate tabernacle frame suggests that we are looking at the vista from a window.

Bellini emphasises this pictorial illusionism by painting a ‘label’ on the marble ledge and signing it with his name in the Latin form: ‘IOANNES BELLINVS’. This type of half-length Madonna and Child was one of the artist’s most successful subjects, and a number of variant types were produced by Bellini’s large workshop in Venice, a city that claimed the Virgin Mary as protector.

Bartolomeo Vivarini also ran a large workshop, and visitors to the exhibition

are treated to an exceedingly grand and fine work in the form of his Polyptych of the Madonna and Child, Saints Peter and Michael, the Trinity and angels (Scanzo polyptych) 1488.

Polyptychs, the spectacular multi-panelled altarpieces commissioned by the Church or private donors, were designed for elaborate architectural settings, located behind the altar or in special chapels or niches. Centred on the Madonna and Child, Vivarini’s is the type of public work intended to convey the Christian stories to a largely illiterate parish. Many altarpieces also included episodes from the lives of Mary or Jesus on the side panels or lower registers. Some incorporated sculptural figures or hinged panels with images on both sides so they could be opened for special feast days. The reforms of the Council of Trent (1545–63), as well as changing fashions and the need for funds, meant many church interiors were rearranged and altarpieces dismantled.

Custom-built frames were removed, often lost, and individual panels dispersed.

Although the Scanzo polyptych has lost its frame, its display in Canberra suggests something of the impact the altarpiece might have had in its original setting in the Scanzo parish church just outside Bergamo.

Saints in late Medieval and Early Renaissance art are usually accommodated on the wings of an altarpiece or in the predella below, separated from the main figures by the frame. From the mid 1450s, however, they began to be incorporated into the scene, standing either side of the enthroned Madonna or within an architectural setting. The choice of saints was often specified by the commissioning church or donor and often had a local connection. Traditionally, name saints were invoked as intermediaries. Donors, in recognition of their earthbound status and relative unimportance, were often depicted kneeling below, smaller than the divine figures.

Lorenzo Lotto’s painting is characterised by rich colour and sumptuous fabrics.

In Lotto’s Holy family with Saint Catherine of Alexandria 1533, Joseph lifts a pure white cloth to reveal the sleeping Infant.

The Virgin, who holds an open book and appears distracted, turns back toward the scene. Saint Catherine of Alexandria is depicted with hands held in prayer—rather than the more traditional Mystic Marriage pose in which she accepts the ring from the Christ Child. Framed by the landscape, the figures are bound together by masses of twisted cloth and united by their speculation on the Christ’s future suffering.

Lotto captures mood and gesture with the quiet intensity of later portraitists in Bergamo. Indeed, the Bergamasque painters, as well as the quality of the collections later donated to the Accademia Cararra, encapsulate the importance of the city of Bergamo and the rising merchant class in Italy at the end of the sixteenth century.

Cosmè Tura Madonna and Child c 1460–65 tempera and gold on wood panel 46.4 x 31.7 cm Accademia Carrara, Bergamo legacy of Guglielmo Lochis, 1866

Giovanni Bellini Madonna and Child (Alzano Madonna) c 1488 oil on wood panel 84.3 x 65.5 cm Accademia Carrara, Bergamo bequest of Giovanni Morelli, 1891

Lorenzo Lotto Holy Family with Saint Catherine of Alexandria 1533 oil on canvas 81.5 x 115.3 cm Accademia Carrara, Bergamo legacy of Guglielmo Lochis, 1866

Lucina Ward Curator, International Painting and Sculpture

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Eugene von Guérard Stony Rises, Lake Corangamite 1857 oil on canvas 71.2 x 86.4 cm Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide purchased with the assistance of the Utah Foundation through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation, 1981

NEW DISCOVERIES von Guérard in search of nature Eugene von Guérard: nature revealed 27 April – 15 July | nga.gov.au/VonGuerard Ruth Pullin shares her recent research and findings that inform Eugene von Guérard: nature revealed, the first retrospective on the artist in over three decades and one that sheds new light on one of Australia’s most important colonial painters.

Over 30 years have passed since the National Gallery of Australia (then the Australian National Gallery) mounted the first retrospective of the work of the Austrian‑born, German-trained landscape painter Eugene von Guérard (1811–1901).

Curated by Candice Bruce and Daniel Thomas, the exhibition opened in 1980 and played a key role in restoring von Guérard’s reputation, after almost a century of neglect, as one of the greatest landscape painters to work in Australia in the nineteenth century.

The current exhibition, Eugene von Guérard: nature revealed, draws on new research and previously unseen works to further illuminate the career of this remarkable man. In particular, it explores the ways in which von Guérard’s experiences in Europe shaped his singular and scientifically informed vision of the Australian landscape.

Von Guérard was 41 when he arrived in Australia in December 1852; he was an experienced, well-educated and well‑travelled artist with a deep interest in the natural world. His career in Australia

was defined by the series of intrepid expeditions he undertook into some of the most rugged and remote reaches of the south-eastern colonies. On these expeditions, he recorded in his sketchbooks the essential information required for the canvases painted in his Melbourne studio— canvasses in which his minutely detailed observations of the natural world were integrated into compositions of sublime breadth and grandeur.

The pattern for von Guérard’s adventurous life of antipodean travel, sketchbook in hand, was established early, in the 1830s, when he and his father, the artist Bernard von Guérard, set out on sketching expeditions together from their base in Naples. Two sketchbooks, shown for the first time in this exhibition, reveal the depth of the bond, both personal and professional, shared by father and son.

One is the earliest of Eugene’s sketchbooks to have survived and the other is the only one of Bernard’s sketchbooks known to exist. Together the books record their journey to Sicily in March 1834—

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sometimes, as individual pages reveal, they sat side by side to sketch the same subject. Bernard was a successful painter of portrait miniatures and his book contains rare evidence of his interest in landscape subjects. The minute and exacting detail of von Guérard’s mature style reflects the early and enduring influence of his father.

In the 1840s, as a student of landscape painting at the Düsseldorf Academy, von Guérard was again encouraged to focus on the detail of the natural world. In the course of my research on a group of oil studies shown for the first time in this exhibition, it emerged that he was one of a generation of painters who, inspired by their teacher JW Schirmer, trekked out to favoured sites to paint and sketch directly from nature. The practice of Freilichtmalerei (open-air painting) in Düsseldorf was characterised by the artists’ preference for painting close‑range studies of such subjects as riverbank vegetation or twisted, exposed

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tree roots, often from a ground‑level perspective. The botanical specificity to which the artists aspired is evident in von Guérard’s beautiful and airy study of the varied plants and grasses that grew in and around a shallow swamp at Erkrath not far from Düsseldorf.

The newfound concern for botanical— and geological—accuracy among the Düsseldorf landscape painters reflects the pervasive influence of the great German natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859). Humboldt had fired the imaginations of a generation (including that of the great Charles Darwin) with his groundbreaking recognition of the ‘interconnectedness’ of natural phenomena and the unifying laws that underpinned nature’s extraordinary diversity. He changed the way the natural world was understood and the impact of his ideas was felt around the world. Scientists such as the eminent botanist Ferdinand von Mueller and

geophysicist Georg von Neumayer, both of whom were friends of von Guérard’s in Melbourne, were among many Humboldtians to make their careers in Australia, a new frontier in their fields in the mid nineteenth century.

Humboldt addressed the subject of landscape painting in his influential publications and von Guérard’s journeys in the southern hemisphere—deep into Victoria’s alpine regions, across the volcanic plains of Victoria’s Western District, along the rugged coastline of Cape Otway, to the warm temperate rain forests of the Illawarra and to the glacial lakes of New Zealand—were made in the spirit of the great travelling scientist.

Humboldt’s hope, expressed in volume two of his Cosmos: a sketch of a physical description of the universe, was that landscape painting would flourish ‘with a new and hitherto unknown brilliancy’, when painters would ‘pass the narrow limits

of the Mediterranean’, to travel ‘far in the interior of continents, in the humid mountain valleys of the tropical world, to seize, with the genuine freshness of a pure and youthful spirit, on the true image of the varied forms of nature’.

Von Guérard painted Tower Hill 1855 on his return from one of his first major Australian expeditions. When he saw the site, a spectacular and fertile crater lake with an island of scoria cones located close to Warrnambool in the Western District, on 8 August 1855, he understood its scientific and the aesthetic significance immediately. Twelve years earlier, in the tradition of the Düsseldorf landscape painters, he had sketched the crater lakes of the volcanic Eifel region in western Germany, an important research site for geologists, including Humboldt. At Tower Hill, von Guérard recognised a parallel landscape, one with significance for both art and science.

In his topographically accurate portrayal of the landscape, closely observed details of plant and bird life enliven a unified panoramic composition. Details, such as the waterbirds splashing and diving on the lake, along with the original palette of this and other works in the exhibition, have been revealed anew by the painstaking conservation work of Michael Varcoe-Cocks, National Gallery of Victoria conservator and co-curator of the exhibition.

Eugene von Guérard: nature revealed presents a new reading of one of Australia’s most important artists, one that signals the contemporary relevance of his vision of nature.

Eugene von Guérard Swamp near Erkrath 1841 oil on paper 27.8 x 43.6 cm private collection

Eugene von Guérard Tower Hill 1855 oil on canvas 68.6 x 122 cm Warrnambool Art Gallery, Victoria on loan from the Department of Sustainability and Environment gift of Mrs E Thornton, 1966

Ruth Pullin guest curator of Eugene von Guérard: nature revealed

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Bob Burruwal Rembarrnga people Lena Yarinkura Rembarrnga/Kune people Wyarra family group 2010 natural earth pigments on kurrajong and paperbark, and feathers dimensions variable National Gallery of Australia, Canberra purchased 2010

BEING CONTEMPORARY an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition unDisclosed: 2nd National Indigenous Art Triennial 11 May – 22 July 2012 The inaugural National Indigenous Art Triennial, Culture Warriors, opened in 2007 to much acclaim, both nationally and overseas, with attendance figures numbering around 267 426. Several years on, and with guest curator Carly Lane, the second National Indigenous Art Triennial, unDisclosed, offers another slice of Indigenous visual art history.

The second National Indigenous Art Triennial, unDisclosed, is an exhibition of mystery, revelation and allure. Drawing on the spoken and unspoken, known and unknown, the exhibition captures the duality of the disclosed and undisclosed in the works of art it presents as a snapshot of Australian Indigenous visual art today.

It explores some of the motivations and inspirations behind Indigenous art and hints at the undercurrent of knowledge, stories and histories.

Familiar and overt themes continue to be expressed by contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Themes such as connections to Country, community, family and self are prevalent. Historical relationships between Indigenous communities and between Indigenous peoples and settlers are still present and relevant in their art. And, for many decades, modern relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians have continued to be rigorously examined, addressing both the successes and failures that have come to pass.

These themes are familiar precisely because they continue to be significant issues not just to Indigenous people but also for Australia as a whole. The act of revisiting such themes time and again, however, is testimony to their importance and alerts us to an artist’s sense of belonging and alienation.

Embedded in these familiar themes are more-subtle or surreptitious themes and sometimes sacred cultural knowledge.

These elements are also central to the realisation of individual works and are fundamental to an artist’s practice. The artists’ motives, values, beliefs and intent are often accessible on investigation while other information may only be available to those who have the lived experience, cultural status or knowledge to read the work. Layers of public and restricted information may coexist in a single work, and the latter for many of us (Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike) will sit beyond our recognition. UnDisclosed is an attempt to bring elements of the known and unknown equally to the fore.

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From across the country, 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists have been selected to represent Indigenous art today.

The artists live and work in various regional centres, remote communities and capital cities in Australia—from the top end of Australia, including the Torres Strait Islands and the Northern Territory, down to the south-west of Western Australia into South Australia, across to the southern isle of Tasmania and back up through Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Some of the artists work in or near the communities in which they were born and others have established roots elsewhere.

Naata Nungurrayi still walks, sings and paints Pintupi land as generations of her family did before her. Bob Burruwal and Lena Yarinkura weave into material form the ancestral spirits that live alongside the artists in central Arnhem Land.

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori 16 ARTONVIEW | EXHIBITION

can visit and paint her homeland of Bentinck Island from her adopted home nearby on Mornington Island; and Lindsay Harris bridges time, people and place in his depictions of his birthplace Kwolyin, just 200 kilometres from his home in Perth.

The artists in unDisclosed, directly or indirectly demonstrate that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, tradition and connection to Country, community and family continue to have a presence in modern Australia, and not just in expected ways. The works of Lorraine Connelly‑Northey and Jonathan Jones, in particular, present modern visions of continuing Aboriginal tradition, challenging the artificial divide between traditional and contemporary in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

Connelly-Northey’s works in unDisclosed derive from and expand on binding techniques used by generations of Waradgerie women. Her innovative

reiterations of cloaks and narrbongs (bags) in which found materials of today—mesh, wire, tin, piping and corrugated iron— replace the natural fibres of old are symbolic of the continuation of Waradgerie cultural practices within a modern and continually changing environment.

Jones’s installation lean to 2012 (being fabricated for the exhibition) is another work in unDisclosed that breaks down the artificial divide by merging the traditional and contemporary. Made from MDF wood, blue tarpaulin and fluorescent lights, this oversized shelter draws on Aboriginal architecture and use of space and on Kamilaroi and Wiradjuri cultural line work. Its blue glow envelops the surrounding space, but also softens its imposing scale, making it approachable and pleasing. Of course, many would not consider these works as traditional, as they use modern materials.

The same could be said of Daniel Walbidi’s paintings of his grandfather and grandmother’s Country in the Great Sandy Desert as he has used synthetic polymer paint on canvas. Even the figurative and non-figurative bark paintings of Nyapanyapa Yunupingu trace the artist’s lived experience, challenging the dichotomy between the traditional and the contemporary. The common preconceptions about what tradition in Indigenous Australian art should look like is what makes people consider one work more authentic than another; whereas, the reality is that all the works in unDisclosed are equally contemporary and all are authentic, carrying on traditions in someway or another. They also all tell the story of what it is to be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person today.

This story of indigeneity, is of course, one that is as diverse in presentation as it is in origin (historical and geographic).

The second triennial combines many art forms, such as painting, works on paper and sculpture as well as new-media and installation work. Paintings by Maria Josette Orsto and Gunybi Ganambarr flag the continuing importance of the Dreaming. Nici Cumpston’s hand-coloured photographs on canvas, of sites along the Murray‑Darling river system, explore traces of the past in the here and now.

Daniel Walbidi Mangala/Yulparija peoples Kirriwirri 2010 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 152.5 x 152.5 cm National Gallery of Australia, Canberra purchased 2010

(opposite) Jonathan Jones Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi peoples lean-to 2007 MDF wood, tarpaulin, fluorescent lights 360 x 1750 x 85 cm This is an earlier lean-to, which is similar to Jones’s work being fabricated for the triennial. photograph: Richard Glover

(pages 18–19) Fiona Foley Badtjala people Let a hundred flowers bloom 2010 mixed media: 3 opium pipes, stool, packing case, sketch book, 36 brass opium poppy sculptures, and 34 photographs on inkjet print dimensions variable courtesy the artist, Andrew Baker Art Dealer and Niagara Galleries

Christian Thompson Bidjara people HEAT 2010 (detail) digital media 5.52 mins on loan from artist and private lender

Danie Mellor’s heritage is ever-present in his meticulously drawn narratives of colonial Australia. Alick Tipoti’s masks draw from his extensive research into his own Torres Strait Islander cultural traditions, and Christian Thompson’s poetic video work is a cool-headed yet decisive counterclaim to the stereotypes about Indigenous beauty.

New-media art and installations, while still less prevalent, are increasingly employed by a growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Tony Albert, Vernon Ah Kee, Julie Gough and Fiona Foley as well as Connelly-Northey and Jones each present installation works in unDisclosed. The scale of these works can be quite imposing and in some cases the scale is further enhanced by the statement of the work—as in the case of Albert’s blunt, no-nonsense work Pay attention 2009–10. Ah Kee’s large installation tall man 2010, comprising a

four-channel video, drawing and text work, is equally no-nonsense. This poignant and poetic work reveals more of the events surrounding the ‘Palm Island Riots’ in 2004 and the subsequent vilification of alleged ringleader Lex Wotton.

While unDisclosed and many of the works in the exhibition have a sense of grandness, there is also subtlety to be found. Artists invoke, provoke and evoke a myriad of emotions and understandings independent of the scale of their work: the smallest object can have the weightiest of meanings while the largest can approach subjects with levity. Gough’s densely layered She was sold for one guinea 2007 is one such work that defies its small size to make a strong and lasting impact.

Although Gough and a number of other artists in unDisclosed have had long careers in the arts, it is important in the pursuit of representing contemporary Indigenous Australian art that the National Indigenous

Art Triennial acknowledges excellence no matter the stage of an artist’s career, from emerging to established to widely known and celebrated. The works in the exhibition speak volumes about the quality and excellence that thrives within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, even among the newest artists. Michael Cook, for example, held his first art exhibition in 2010, a year after a major retrospective of Fiona Foley’s work opened. Despite career differences, each artist’s body of work has its own presence and appeal, providing a veritable feast for audiences.

Foley’s Let a hundred flowers bloom 2010 is simultaneously whimsical and disturbing. It directs our attention to the history surrounding the use and provision of opium to Aboriginal people in Queensland and the subsequent use of the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 (Qld) as a form

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of control and oppression. Cook’s two series Undiscovered 2010 and Broken dreams 2010 are perhaps more playful than whimsical but, again, they are ultimately haunting. His experience as a commercial photographer, before venturing into art, is clearly evident in these meticulously executed photographs in which he tinkers with history, switches roles, meddles with the trajectory of time and makes impossible juxtapositions.

Notably, the second triennial also features the work of three distinguished artists, Vernon Ah Kee, Danie Mellor and Christian Thompson, who were represented in the inaugural triennial, Culture Warriors, curated by Brenda L Croft.

Selecting these artists for a second time is testimony to the ongoing commitment they, in particular, have to progressing and reinventing their practice. The works

by Ah Kee, Mellor and Thompson mark a significant refinement and extension

of their practice since Culture Warriors.

Their work is simply cutting edge.

Indigenous art is as boundless as it is deep and consists of infinite possibilities.

The full extent of what Indigenous art is or can be is too great for any one exhibition, but the design and desire of the National Indigenous Art Triennial is such that it can follow the course of Indigenous art in Australia. It shares this desire with the long‑running National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award and the more-recent Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards, and yet it sits uniquely among these major events as a thematically focused and curated exhibition. In addition, the triennial presents opportunities for Indigenous artists and curators alike, inviting a guest Indigenous curator (the first of whom is me) to present their vision of Indigenous art every three years. In this way, the triennial sets the benchmark for showcasing the

work of some of the finest Australian artists practising today.

The exploration of ideas, lived experiences and new and existing media in unDisclosed shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art continues to extend beyond its current framework on an exciting and unpredictable trajectory, which is precisely what the National Indigenous Art Triennial was initiated to track. The vision of the National Gallery and Brenda L Croft, then senior curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, is one to be applauded. There are already clear shifts, developments and differences in Indigenous art since the first triennial— even among those artists represented in both—and we are once again reminded that Indigenous art is dynamic, engaging and quintessentially contemporary.

Carly Lane guest curator of unDisclosed: 2nd National Indigenous Art Triennial

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THE ART OF PLAY Play 4 February – 24 June 2012 | nga.gov.au/Play A fantastical fountain. Subverted street-signs.

An invisible bird. Three red balls tossed into a blue sky.

A tower of toys. A lost cloud. An imaginary expedition.

A somersaulting schoolgirl. A wrapped riddle.

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Play embraces painting, photography, prints and sculpture from the Gallery’s collection.

From drawings made with moonlight to joyous woodcuts about loneliness, this exhibition celebrates the importance of play in an artist’s practice, and in our lives.

Good artists seek the truth of things.

Everything they experience is a possible starting place. Henri Matisse observed that it takes great courage to look at things as they really are, as though seeing them for the first time. We are born with this clarity, but over time learned conventions obscure our ‘innocent eye’. Children create things out of nothing: turning empty boxes into castles and clouds into dragons. They are curious and inventive. At heart, they are just like artists.

Art brings colour into the shadows and shows us the overlooked spaces in between;

it suggests stories and keeps us guessing.

Artists delight in questions. The best are fearless and adventurous, driven forward by a strong spirit of inquiry. Although many appreciate tradition, some find their freedom in the unfamiliar, and it takes audacity to work against expectations and a sense of humour to skip off the well‑trodden path.

Art made by artists who invite chance and serendipity into their studio is always brave; it is not about throwing away the guidebook but daring to write your own. Play focuses on artists who have escaped the confines of the everyday and ventured into the unknown.

What they have brought back reveals the world to us anew.

Man Ray hid poems in plain sight. Ian Burn looked at looking. Joseph Cornell constructed other worlds. Marcel Broodthaers

amused himself. Sweeney Reed was an escape artist. Bruce Nauman likes mirrors.

Elaine Russell paints away childhood sadness.

Louise Weaver sees the unseen.

Playfulness and experimentation offer artists the opportunity to return to the pure perception of childhood. They notice the poetry in a sun shower and see bright fountains of joy in tears of sorrow. Their insight creates art that can be quirky, clever and confusing, exuberant, amusing and optimistic. It can prompt a twitch at the corner of your mouth and remind us that anything is possible.

Through their work, we discover that the ordinary is actually quite extraordinary.

John Baldessari a sheet from Throwing three balls in the air to get a straight line (best of thirty-six attempts) 1973 artist book, sheet 24.5 x 32.6 cm (each) National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1981

Alex Selenitsch raingold 1969 screenprint, sheet 49.5 x 37.8 cm National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Gordon Darling Australia Pacific Print Fund, 2005 © Alex Selenitsch

Joan Miró a print from Paul Éluard and Joan Miró, A Toute epreuve, Gérald Cramer, Geneva, 1958 woodcut, sheet 50 x 32 cm National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1983

Richard Tipping Sing 2004 screenprint, 12.6 x 12.6 cm National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Gordon Darling Australia Pacific Print Fund, 2008 © Richard Tipping

Sarina Noordhuis-Fairfax Curator, Australian Prints and Drawings

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Yirawala Kuninjku people Kundaagi—red plains kangaroo 1962 natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 101 x 45 cm © estate of the artist, represented by Aboriginal Artists Agency

MASTERPIECES FOR THE NATION FUND 2012 the master of Arnhem Land bark painting, Yirawala Assist in acquiring for the nation this masterwork by one of Australia’s most important artists, Yirawala. For further information or to make your tax-deductible donation, call (02) 6240 6454 or fill out and return the donation form in the Masterpieces for the Nation 2012 brochure.

Aboriginal artist Yirawala (c 1901–1976) is widely acknowledged as the master of Arnhem Land bark painting. He is also a key figure in the story of Australian art.

The National Gallery of Australia was the first public institution to recognise his significance as a key Australian artist when it acquire 136 of his bark paintings (collected by Sandra Le Brun Holmes) in 1976. At the time, it was the largest collection by an individual Aboriginal artist held in a public institution.

Now, although 144 of Yirawala’s bark paintings are in the national art collection, none are quite as exceptional as Kundaagi— red plains kangaroo 1962.

He was born around 1901 and grew up surrounded by the rich culture on his traditional lands in the Northern Territory, learning the sacred Kuninjku designs, songs and stories from his father Nowaritj, a senior Kuninjku leader.

By the 1950s, Yirawala was also acknowledged as a senior cultural leader.

He was a strong advocate for land rights and a teacher of his culture, both to his people and to outsiders. In 1971, he was honoured by the British Government

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when he became an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire).

He was actively painting from 1960s until his death in 1976, and his style was similar to the rock art found throughout his Country. He painted the major ceremonial themes of Mardayin, Lorrkon and Wubarr; elements of the traditional body designs related to these themes are also evident in his work.

Kundaagi—red plains kangaroo was painted in 1962 at the beginning of his artistic career. It is a stunning painting featuring a large figurative red plains kangaroo and a mimih spirit. The figures are painted in-profile with the intricate geometric sacred clan designs of the Kuninjku covering all except the outer extremities of the face, hands and feet.

The internal organs, backbones and genitalia are detailed characteristic of the style from western Arnhem Land. The kangaroo and mimih stare at each other.

The mimih with its fine bristling hair is seemingly in mid-movement as though reaching in animated glee for the kangaroo.

This moment is captured so eloquently in Yirawala’s work.

Traditionally, the Kuninjku people would place the bones of the deceased in a lorrkon, or hollow log coffin, as part of their mortuary ceremony. This is how it was in the beginning for Kundaagi, who was captured, killed and had its flesh eaten by a mimih spirit. Kundaagi’s mother had the honours of singing and placing his bones in a lorrkon to mark the end of the mourning period and to announce the safe arrival of the deceased’s soul in the spiritual world. The pure white background also hints at the spiritual world where both Kundaagi and the mimih travelled after death.

This is an extraordinary masterwork

by Yirawala, and the Gallery currently has nothing like it in its collection of his works. It will certainly be a work that will remain on permanent display in our Indigenous galleries, and its inclusion in the Masterpieces for the Nation Fund reasserts Yirawala’s position among the most important figures in Australian art.

Tina Baum Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

William Duke Hohepa Te Umuroa 1846, oil on canvas, 70.6 x 60.4 cm, purchased with the assistance of the Catherine Frohlich Memorial Fund The National Gallery recently purchased from a British private collection this significant colonial portrait of the famous Maori chief Hohepa Te Umuroa. Painted in Tasmania in 1846 by Australian artist William Duke, it is one of the earliest known oil portraits of an individual Maori and a tragic record of our colonial past.

Te Umuroa was a Maori political prisoner who had taken part in an armed resistance against the Pakeha (white soldiers and settlers) in the Hutt Valley in May 1846 during the New Zealand wars. He was one of the five Maori captured defending their land and sentenced to be transported to Tasmania ‘for the term of their natural lives’.

Maori author Witi Ihimaera has brought Te Umuroa to life in his 2009 historic novel The Trowenna Sea. The book describes how Te Umuroa learnt to speak English and was baptised a Christian, taking the name Joseph (Hohepa). Te Umuroa worked as an emissary with fellow Maori attempting to negotiate a treaty with the Pakeha over ownership of the land. The Maori were the rightful owners of the land, which had an especially important role in nourishing and providing for them. But he was betrayed.

After the Pakeha shot Te Umuroa’s much-loved wife, Te Umuroa understandably turned against them. He began to take part in the raids to claim back Maori land, which had been stolen from them, and to avenge the murder of his wife, participating in the attack in the Hutt Valley in 1846 that resulted in his capture.

When the Maori prisoners arrived in Tasmania in November 1846, many Australian colonists objected. The Maori had been sent to Maria Island, the more humane Tasmanian prison, and were given separate huts from the main dormitory that housed the convicts. But many Tasmanians criticised the sentence and petitioned the British government to issue a pardon, arguing that the Maori were patriots fighting for their own land and that their transportation and imprisonment was illegal—they should be repatriated to their homeland in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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While in prison, Te Umuroa became ill with tuberculosis (or pneumonia) and died in custody on 19 July 1847. He was buried the next morning in the small public cemetery on the island, where his remains stayed until his bones were returned home in 1988. As a result of the colonists’ petitions, the other four Maori prisoners obtained their freedom and returned to Auckland in March 1848.

In this powerful portrait, Duke shows the 26-year-old Hohepa Te Umuroa in a stylised pose holding his sacred tokotoko, his symbol of authority and status, and dressed in a traditional cloak (kaitaka).

Duke conveyed the feisty spirit of the tall, broad-shouldered young man, his an air of authority and determination.

Duke was born in Ireland in 1814 and arrived in New South Wales in 1840 as an assisted immigrant. He worked briefly in Sydney as a scene painter and mechanist at the Royal Victoria Theatre before moving to New Zealand in 1844, where he established himself as a portrait painter. He moved to Hobart on 7 May 1845, where he remained for seven years. Duke is largely known for the whaling images that he produced during his stay in Tasmania. Following the gold rush, he moved to Victoria and continued to paint portraits and landscapes and worked as a scene painter. He died in Melbourne in 1853, aged 38, leaving behind a young family.

This is the largest and most significant of three Maori portraits that Duke painted in the 1940s. Two smaller portraits from the same decade, Portrait of Maketu and The celebrated chief Hone (or John Heke), are in the collection of the National Library of Australia.

The Gallery’s portrait, Hohepa Te Umuroa, will have an integral place in our displays, honouring this Maori chief and the colonial ties between Australia and New Zealand.

Anne Gray Head of Australian Art

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The Kimberley, Western Australia Riji 1950s–60s, natural earth pigment on pearl shell, various sizes, purchased 2011 Harvested in the warm tropical waters, Australian mother-of-pearl shells (Pinctada maxima) have been highly sought after by coastal Aboriginal people for thousands of years and more recently by the rest of the world. The once-living shell has an innate beauty that for the people of the Kimberley echoes the life, spirit and colours of the ocean. Once engraved, they were often made into pendents worn

by Aboriginal men, women and children.

The shimmer of light reflecting off a mother-of-pearl shell is said to emulate the lighting strikes during the monsoons caused by the Rainbow Serpent. The zigzagging and angular interlocking designs of the engraved riji mirror the receding tidemarks of the ocean or the wind-whipped ripples on the surface of the water or the ripples caused by the Rainbow Serpent moving below the surface. These designs are highlighted by the red ochres and black charcoal rubbed into the carved grooves.

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Riji by unknown artists and by (far right) Butcher Joe Nangan.

The 65 riji comprising this group of works were collected from the Kimberley and the Great Sandy Desert in the 1950s and 1960s. The group includes works by well-known artists, such as Nyikina man Butcher Joe Nangan, and unknown artists. Nangan’s mastery of the technique is evident in this fine collection—the exaggerated movements of a fish and fine detailing of its scales, men captured mid-movement during ceremonies. Nangan and other contemporary pearl-shell artists from the Kimberley continue to follow their customs of engraving shells for trade and sale.

These stunning, engraved riji add historical and cultural value to the Gallery’s small but important collection of pearl-shell pendants from Western Australia’s Kimberley region, and they are currently on display in the Kimberley Gallery at the National Gallery of Australia.

Tina Baum Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

Ricardo Idagi Giri Giri Le (Paradise Man)—Marou Mimi 2008, turtle shell, cowrie shells, mussel shells, raffia grass, wicker cane, saimi saimi seeds, 92 x 75 x 17 cm, purchased 2011 Ricardo Idagi’s contemporary vision of his traditional culture is encapsulating and innovative. He was born and raised on Mer Island (Murray Island) in the Torres Strait and currently lives and works in Melbourne. He is a talented artist, musician (under the name King Kadu) and storyteller whose vision is to revitalise Torres Strait Islander culture and art pre-missionary contact. His works are representative of his deep understanding and knowledge of Meriam Mer culture.

Idagi’s Giri Giri Le (Paradise Man)—Marou Mimi, created with the assistance of his nephew Obery Sambo, blends two types of Torres Strait ceremonial headwear, the turtle-shell mask and the whitefeather dhoeri (headdress). The large turtle-shell forms the face of the work and its outer edge only is intricately carved in patterns that resemble traditional weavings. The eyes, carved out of the shell, are outlined with contrasting paler cowrie shell to highlight their shape and presence. The traditional dhoeri is carefully positioned on the turtle‑shell mask as it would be worn during a dance. It is adorned with an outer spray of white feathers, the tips of which are cut into the shapes of fishtails—representing an important local food source.

The sharp nose, like a turtle beak, points toward the opened mouth lined with rows of gritted teeth. And, below, the intricately carved pearl shell—traditionally worn on the chest by fully initiated men—completes the work to give a real sense of how a Torres Strait Islander warrior would have looked dressed and ready for ceremony or war.

This striking work will compliment the other two major masks by Idagi in the collection and is on display in the Torres Strait Islander Gallery at the National Gallery of Australia.

Tina Baum Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

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Janet Dawson The origin of the Milky Way 1964, oil on canvas, 166.2 x 196.6 cm, bequest of Ann Lewis AO, 2011

St George the Dragon 1964, oil on canvas, 167 x 197 cm, bequest of Ann Lewis AO, 2011 © Janet Dawson. Represented by Viscopy

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The two paintings by Janet Dawson recently bequeathed from the estate of Ann Lewis AO to the National Gallery are iconic works in the artist’s development and in the history of Australian art.

The origin of the Milky Way and St George and the dragon, both painted in 1964, encompass a feeling of the upbeat tempo of the 1960s and are the fruition of years of Dawson’s dedication to looking at and making art. They also feel very relevant in the present—so fresh that they could have been painted yesterday.

Dawson has revealed herself over time to be an artist of considerable versatility. Already in 1955, when she was only 20 years old, her diverse abilities were recognised with awards for both portraiture and abstract painting. The following year, she received a National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship. After her training at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, she was taken by much of the art she saw in Europe and in Britain, where she studied for a time at the Slade School of Fine Art. Dawson was interested in studying works of the past in collections such as the National Gallery in London, where she saw Jacopo Tintoretto’s The origin of the Milky Way c 1575 and Paolo

Uccello’s Saint George and the dragon c 1470, which informed her works of the same titles. In Tintoretto’s mythological painting, figures circle around and dive towards the focal point of Juno, her breast milk spurting out to create the stars of the Milky Way. While overt narrative elements have disappeared from or are submerged in Dawson’s work, she combines a feeling for milky sensuality with dynamic compositional structure and vibrant colour.

Similarly, in St George and the dragon, elements such as the red cross refer directly to the saint of the title, even though the subject is largely abstracted. In both instances, the bold shapes radiate around the small, crucial inner circle, with emphatic and delicate forms and brush-marks interweaving.

Dawson’s dramatic paintings combine early sources with her understanding of contemporary art at the time, in part inspired by the exhibition The new American painting, which she saw at the Tate in London in 1959. In that same year, debates were raging back in Melbourne about abstraction and figuration in the form of The Antipodean manifesto instigated by art historian Bernard Smith, who encouraged a local ethos and a concentration on imagery.

Dawson provided a sophisticated alternative, combining past and present references with integrity of purpose. By the time she painted The origin of the Milky Way and Saint George and the dragon, she had evolved an approach that was informed by Colourfield and Hard Edge painting and was driven by a distinctive personal vitality and directness. Like the still-youthful yet skilled Saint George slaying the dragon, she was well and truly a match for her peers, and these confident works made their impact felt.

These two major paintings were left to the National Gallery of Australia by Ann Lewis AO, who knew of our interest in them.

The bequest is doubly fitting as Lewis was on the Gallery’s Council for a time and had been one of the Directors of Gallery A in Sydney, where both works were first exhibited in 1964. The Gallery is indebted to her memory and to her family for making these inspiring works available to the collection for our many national and international visitors to enjoy.

Deborah Hart Senior Curator, Australian Painting and Sculpture post-1920

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Eric Thake Brownout 1942, oil on paperboard, 41 x 51 cm, purchased 2011 Eric Thake (1904–1982) had an eye for capturing the uncanny and the surreal in the everyday and was a significant figure in the story of Surrealism in Australia from the mid 1930s. Thake’s works are characterised by a strong sense of design and reveal an interest in the work of British Surrealists such as Eric Wadsworth.

Thake’s striking Brownout 1942 embodies aspects of both Social Realism and Surrealism in conveying an aspect of wartime Melbourne. A brownout is a partial blackout and was enforced at times during the Second World War in Australia in major population centres considered vulnerable to air attack.

(Fittingly, this work was held in the collection of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria for a time after its completion.)

Thake exploited the eerie atmospheric effect of the low-level lighting on this unpopulated street in East Kew; and the sense of foreboding is enhanced by the sign pointing towards the Kew air raid shelter. Thake also explored the theatrical formal qualities of the scene, emphasising the spatial ambiguity created by a brownout and providing this otherwise bold image with a

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weightlessness. The strings of softly glowing ovals of light initially give the appearance of a dreamlike abstracted composition; but closer inspection reveals Thake’s hyper-real representation of a suburban street corner, with detail dissolving into seemingly unfathomable darkness.

A painter, printmaker and later photographer, Thake had achieved considerable success in Melbourne by the time he completed this work. A year later, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and was commissioned to document the affect of the war on the RAAF, producing a body of strong surreal images in response to the detritus of war in the Pacific.

Brownout is an exceptional and much-sought-after example of Thake’s work in oil from this period. It is a very welcome and important addition that will enhance the National Gallery’s already unsurpassed collection of mid‑twentieth-century Australian art.

Miriam Kelly Assistant Curator, Australian Painting and Sculpture

Milton Rogovin photographs 1958–91, gelatin silver photographs, gift of David Knaus, California, 2010 Classic twentieth-century American documentary photography is a major strength of the photography collection. Milton Rogovin is a great exemplar of the tradition in the second half of the century.

He was influenced by pioneers such as Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine, who strived to change working conditions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and others such as Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, who documented the Great Depression for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s.

As a young man, Rogovin suffered through the Great Depression, and his political and social conscience was further heightened in 1957 when he was called before the House Committee on Un‑American Activities to answer allegations of Communism.

His career as an optometrist was ruined and he felt, ‘I could no longer be indifferent to the problems of the people, especially the poor, the forgotten ones’. In 1958, he photographed gospel services held in storefront churches in the African-American neighbourhood of Buffalo, New York, starting him on the path to becoming one of America’s most celebrated social documentary photographers.

Two works from Rogovin’s poignant series Working people 1976–87 reveal the same miner at home with her family and at work.

Rogovin worked in large series over time with his subjects always determining how they should be portrayed. He presented people head on, at eye level, centring them, capturing them in sharp focus.

In this way, he sought to eliminate psychological distance. He often showed people in their home and at work—a simple yet powerful device countering social and gender stereotypes.

The cultural and social importance of Rogovin’s work was recognised in 1999 when the United States Library of Congress archived his negatives and prints as a national resource.

He died in early 2011, shortly after celebrating his 101st birthday.

The National Gallery is fortunate to have received a gift from American benefactor David Knaus of 45 of Rogovin’s photographs from 1958 to 1991. Rogovin’s images of miners feature in a display in the Photography gallery from 31 March to 29 July.

Anne O’Hehir Assistant Curator, Photography

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Edward William Godwin designer Collinson and Lock manufacturer Anglo-Japanese tea table with folding shelves 1872, walnut, gilt brass, 75.2 x 46.6 x 44.5 cm, purchased 2011 Edward William Godwin (1833–1886), an architect, designer and theatrical producer, was also a writer and critic identified with the British design reform movement of the 1860s forward.

He was a designer for many of London’s furniture and applied-arts manufacturers, working in a number of historical styles from the ancient world to the Gothic, Jacobean and the vernacular. He had begun to study Japanese art in the 1850s, immersing himself in the collections of Japanese objects that were flooding into Britain and being celebrated at the Great Exhibition in 1851.

His development of an Anglo-Japanese style for furniture, objects and interior design reflected this rising interest in Japanese art and design that from the 1860s informed the design attitudes and theories of the Aesthetic Movement. His architectural work included the design of studio houses, along with furniture and interior design for artists, including a house for James McNeill Whistler in 1878.

Godwin’s originality is seen in this Anglo-Japanese style tea table with asymmetrical folding shelves. Its overall scale and structure, and intended use, reflect the neoclassical Sheraton style of the

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eighteenth century. Its detailing and organisation of structural design elements, however, show the influence of Japanese tea‑room aesthetics and reveal his understanding of the semiotics of such objects in Japanese and English homes—both of which are sites for the formal consumption of tea and the elegant display of its tableware, implements and furnishings. It shows his concerns for simplicity and cleanliness in design, with few extraneous decorative features. Like his contemporary Christopher Dresser and designers that would follow him at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Godwin’s work shows a commitment to utility and functionality.

This table is from a group Godwin designed between 1872 and 1874 for the London manufacturer Collinson and Lock. This firm was noted for its high-quality goods, ‘art furniture’ and refined catalogue of objects in the Japanese style.

Robert Bell AM Senior Curator, Decorative Arts and Design

Vanuatu Pentecost Island, Penama Province Chubwan mid 15th – mid 17th century, wood, patina, 25 x 15.5 cm, purchased 2011 This chubwan mask from the Island of Pentecost in Vanuatu is one of only a small number known to exist. A radiocarbon test indicates it is between 400 and 550 years old, making it one of the oldest scientifically tested wooden objects from Vanuatu. Its pronounced cheeks and wide grin are suggestive of benevolent laughter, although the overall countenance is chillingly grotesque.

Chubwan are carved from hardwood with a domed forehead and pierced septum through a bulbous nose. The nose reveals a long‑neglected practice on Pentecost of nasal piercing, or it may be a vulgar caricature of people from adjacent islands who continued this practice into the early twentieth century.

Very little is actually known about the true purpose of chubwan as tradition associated with this mask ceased long ago. We can only speculate as to whether such masks were worn for public festivities or ritual events, although many believe that the masks were worn at events based on the association of men and yams. The wearing of this mask may have offered some form of spiritual protection—as is the case with masks from neighbouring Malakula Island, which were worn to protect the living from the spirits of the dead.

Regardless of the chubwan’s enigmatic function, the artist skilfully created a face that would frighten and intimidate. The deeply undercut brows and the ridge of the lower lip are prominent under the light of a torch, as Felix Speiser, a visitor to the area in 1910, noted in his book Ethnology of Vanuatu: ‘… such a face, seen in the semi-darkness of the forest by the light of flickering torches, must have had a frightful enough effect’.

This exceedingly early Melanesian work joins the Gallery’s small collection of approximately 200 works from Vanuatu.

Crispin Howarth Curator, Pacific Arts

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Travelling exhibitions nga.gov.au/Travex Roy Lichtenstein: Pop remix 19 Apr – 11 Jun 2012 Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington, Vic 25 Jun – 26 Aug 2012 QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, Qld Roy Lichtenstein was a master of appropriation. Applying a systematic approach to his creative energy, the artist’s entire body of work was constructed following a sophisticated strategy of image selection, reinterpretation and reissue.

Lichtenstein developed a central creative principle that became a potent formula: an ability to identify over-used cultural clichés and to repackage them as monumental remixes.

Roy Lichtenstein: Pop remix traces the artist’s print projects from the 1950s to the 1990s, exploring how the artist appropriated, transformed and remixed numerous art‑historical sources, including Claude Monet’s Impressionism, Salvador Dalì’s Surrealism and Willem de Kooning’s Abstract Expressionism. Lichtenstein reinterpreted the work of these artistic giants and significant art movements using an instantly recognisable graphic aesthetic, effectively branding himself with a signature Lichtenstein look to secure his place alongside those masters he so admired.

Slick, intelligent and humorous, Lichtenstein’s remixes of romance and war comics, brushstrokes and nude girls are among the best known Pop prints.

Roy Lichtenstein: Pop remix is drawn from the extensive collection of the artist’s prints at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.

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Travelling exhibitions supporters

Fred Williams: infinite horizons 7 Apr – 22 Jul 2012 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Vic 31 Aug – 4 Nov 2012 Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA

National Collecting Institutions Touring & Outreach Program

Australian portraits 1880–1960 until 12 May 2012 Gladstone Regional Art Gallery, Gladstone, Qld 1 Sep – 21 Oct 2012 Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra, ACT

National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund

In the spotlight: Anton Bruehl photographs 1920s–1950s until 15 Apr 2012 QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, Qld

Space invaders: australian street . stencils . posters paste-ups . zines . stickers

(details from top) Fred Williams Landscape with acacias IV 1974

until 18 Mar 2012 Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo, NSW

private collection

Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift

Anton Bruehl Gear parts c 1935

The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift enables people from all around Australia to discover and handle art and has been touring schools, libraries, community centres, regional galleries and nursing homes since 1990.

Visit nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra gift of American Friends of the National Gallery of Australia, Inc, New York, NY, USA, made possible with the generous support of Anton Bruehl Jr, 2006

To make a booking for 2013, please contact travex@nga.gov.au or (02) 6240 6650

(opposite) Roy Lichtenstein Nude with blue hair 1994 from the series Nudes

Rupert Bunny Woman in a brown hat c 1917 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra purchased 1976

HaHa Ned’s head triptych 2009 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra acquired with the support of Calypso Mary Efkarpidis, 2010 © Regan Tamanui

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra purchased with the assistance of the Orde Poynton Fund, 2002 © estate of Roy Lichtenstein. Represented by Viscopy

ARTONVIEW 35

Creative partnerships

In September 2011, the National Gallery announced that our sponsor Wesfarmers had become the Gallery’s official Indigenous Art Partner. This is a significant development as the partnership has broadened in scope to encompass the ongoing Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship programs and the Gallery’s upcoming major exhibition unDisclosed: 2nd National Indigenous Art Triennial (see pages 14–19). This strengthening partnership is the outcome of a shared vision of supporting and promoting Australian Indigenous leadership in the Australian arts sector.

In this year’s triennial, guest curator Carly Lane has selected 20 Indigenous artists from around Australia to represent the best of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art today. From painting and sculpture to photography and large-scale installations, the exhibition explores the theme of the spoken and the unspoken and the known and the unknown in Indigenous art. Franchesca Cubillo, the Gallery’s Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, said, ‘unDisclosed is an exciting snapshot of contemporary Indigenous art that will challenge inspire and captivate’.

The partnership formally began in 2009 with the announcement of the Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship, a national initiative aimed at increasing Indigenous participation in visual arts management through two approaches: a long-term project-based fellowship offered every two years and an annual ten‑day intensive leadership program. In November 2011, the Gallery’s staff shared their extensive experience with the second group of emerging Indigenous arts leaders to participate in the ten-day program.

Fittingly, the inaugural Wesfarmers Indigenous Arts Fellows Jirra Harvey and Glenn Iseger-Pilkington are working on key aspects of the exhibition’s marketing and education programs.

From 11 May to 22 July, the Gallery presents the second National Indigenous Art Triennial with the valuable support of Wesfarmers.

Helen Carroll (centre), Manager of Wesfarmers Arts, with the inaugural Wesfarmers Arts Fellows Jirra Harvey and Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, 3 November 2011.

36 ARTONVIEW

The exhibition is also proudly supported by Australia Council for the Arts, Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency, Qantas and Mantra on Northbourne.

If you are interested in creating ties with the Australian community through the arts, contact Nicole Short, +61 2 6240 6781 or nicole.short@nga.gov.au, or Eleanor Kirkham, +61 2 6240 6740 or eleanor.kirkham@nga.gov.au.

The participants in the 2011 Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Leadership program at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 6 December 2011.

News from the Foundation

Foundation Fundraising Gala Dinner and Weekend 2012 Since 2008, the annual Foundation Fundraising Gala Dinner and Weekend has been a high point on Australia’s philanthropic arts event calendar. This year, the weekend activities will include an exclusive viewing of Renaissance: 15th and 16th century Italian paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo followed by dinner in the magnificent Gandel Hall, curator-led tours of special exhibitions and collection displays, and lunch hosted by Italian Ambassador His Excellency Mr Gian Ludovico de Martino di Montegiordano and Mrs Camilla de Martino di Montegiordano. To take part in the weekend and support the National Gallery of Australia, contact Maryanne Voyazis on +61 2 6240 6691.

Masterpieces for the Nation Fund 2012 The Masterpieces for the Nation Fund is an annual fundraising appeal that provides the opportunity for benefactors at all levels to assist the Gallery to acquire significant works of art for the national

Edgar Myer, Evan J Lacey, Rebecca Bleich and HE Mr Jeffrey Bleich, United States Ambassador to Australia, and Rupert Myer AM, National Gallery of Australia Council Chairman, at last year’s Fundraising Gala Dinner and Weekend, 19 March 2011.

art collection. Since it was instigated in 2003, the fund has attracted continuous and regular support from many generous donors who have assisted the Gallery in acquiring nine masterpieces. We are very pleased to announce that the work of art chosen for this year’s fund is the impressive Kundaagi—red plains kangaroo 1962 by the master of Arnhem Land bark painting, Yirawala (more information, p 22).

Bequest Circle The National Gallery of Australia Bequest Circle is delighted to welcome new members Gerry Phillips and Sharon Phillips, Brian and Jesusa Lockwood and two bequestors who wish to remain anonymous. The Bequest Circle is a way to actively recognise and celebrate supporters who have made a bequest in support of the National Gallery. For more information on the Bequest Circle, contact Liz Wilson on (02) 6240 6469 or liz.wilson@nga.gov.au.

The generous support of donors to the fundraising initiatives of the Foundation is greatly appreciated. For more information on how to become involved, please contact Maryanne Voyazis on (02) 6240 6691 or foundation@nga.gov.au.

Yirawala Kuninjku people Kundaagi—red plains kangaroo 1962 (detail) © estate of the artist, represented by Aboriginal Artists Agency

ARTONVIEW 37

Thank you …

Exhibitions, programs and acquisitions at the National Gallery of Australia are realised through the generous support of our partners and donors. The National Gallery of Australia would like to thank the following organisations and people:

Grants American Friends of the National Gallery of Australia Inc, New York, made possible with the very generous support of: Kenneth Tyler AO and Marabeth Cohen-Tyler Wolfensohn Family Foundation The Aranday Foundation Gordon Darling Foundation Japan Foundation The Lidia Perin Foundation National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund Thyne Reid Foundation Yulgilbar Foundation

Australian Government

Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport through: The National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia, and through Art Indemnity Australia Australia Council Department of Health and Ageing through the Dementia Community Grants Program Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency

State and territory governments

Queensland Government through Arts Queensland New South Wales Government through Arts NSW Northern Territory Government through Arts NT Western Australian Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts

Corporate partners ABC Radio ACT Government, through Australian Capital Tourism ActewAGL Aesop The Age Hillross Avant Card Barlens The Brassey of Canberra The Canberra Times

38 ARTONVIEW

Canberra Airport Clayton Utz Coopers Brewery Cre8ive* Diamant Hotel Eckersley’s Art & Craft Flash Photobition Forrest Hotel and Apartments Hindmarsh Hyatt Hotel Canberra JCDecaux Lazard Macquarie Group Foundation Manteena Mantra on Northbourne Moët Hennessy Australia Molonglo Group National Australia Bank NewActon/Nishi Nine Network Australia Novotel Canberra Qantas Rio Tinto San Remo The Sydney Morning Herald Ten and a Half Triple J Voyager Estate Wesfarmers WIN Television

25th Anniversary Gift Program

Donations

Robert J Aernout Antoinette Albert and family Ken Alexander Robert Allmark and Alison Allmark Bill Anderson Margaret Anderson Prof Jan Anderson Sue Andrew The Hon Dr Michael Armitage Jean Arthur Margaret Aston Michelle Atkinson Dr Lynne Badger Dr Lesley Baker Suzanne Baker-Dekker Janet Bamford Lesley D Barker Belinda Barrett Tony Beard and Helan Beard Maurice Beatton and Kay Beatton Rosemary Bencke Maria Bendall Andrew Bennett Prof Jeffrey Bennett and Ngaire Bennett Virginia Berger Dora Bermanq Judith Bibo Sheila Bignell Jessie Birch Noel Birchall Beverley I Birtles

Includes donations received from 22 October 2011 to 20 January 2012 Lenore Adamson AW Tyree Foundation Andrew FitzSimons Jason Prowd

Gifts

Rosamund Dalziell in memory of her great-uncle Dr Herbert Tymms Rosamund Dalziell, Michael Austin and Christopher Austin in memory of their mother Rosemary Austin Meredith Hinchliffe Hobbs children in memory of their mother, Reverend Theodora Hobbs Pauline Hunter Lou Klepac OAM James Mollison AO Anne Noble Warwick Oakman Ray Pelham-Thorman in memory of Richard Hugh Pelham-Thorman David Pestorious in memory of Raymond Creuze Patricia Stanner Barbara Tinney Ellen Waugh Margaret Woodward

The Aranday Foundation The Yulgilbar Foundation

100 Works for 100 Years

Peter Burrows AO Richard M Griffin AM and Jay Griffin Rolf Harris AM, CBE Peter Mason AM and Kate Mason

Bequests

Gerry Phillips and Sharon Phillips Brian Lockwood and Jesusa Lockwood

Foundation Board Publishing Fund Julian Beaumont

Founding Donors 2010 Fund John Barrow and Maureen Barrow Julian Burt Lady Potter AC Mike Woods and Kaely Woods

Masterpieces for the Nation 2011 Win Davson Dr Ian Wilkey and Hannah Wilkey and one donor who wishes to remain anonymous

Members Acquisition Fund 2010–11

Spectrum Consultancy Pty Limited

Members Acquisition Fund 2011–12

Pheobe Bischoff OAM Robert Blacklow Anthony Bolger Phil Boorman and Marjorie Boorman Ruth Bourke Charles Bowden Stephen Box and Deidre Box Penleigh Boyd and Robyn Boyd Wendy Brackstone and Harry Brackstone Vera Brain Mary Brennan Cheryl Bridge Jenny Brogan Una Brough Marjorie Brown Marjorie Emily Brown in memory of Moya Simpson Lee John Bruce and Barbara Bruce Tony Buckingham Ann Burgess and Miles Burgess Jill Burke Rosemary Burke Ron Burns and Gail Burns Margaret Burt Robert Cadona Gregory Cairns and Bernadette Thompson Alex Cairns and Robyn Cairns John Caldwell and Judith Caldwell Dr Berenice-Eve Calf Debbie Cameron Rear Admiral David Campbell John Campbell and Yvonne Campbell Dr Lena Cansdale WMP Caukill and Debby Cramer Christine Clark Kathryn Clarke Ann Catheryn Clifton Julian A Clint Joyce Coles Patrea Cook The Cork family Kerry-Anne Cousins Helen Croaker Georgia M Croker Robert Crompton Don Cunnington and Jennet Cunnington Charles P Curran AC and Eva Curran Peter Curtis Mary Curtis and Richard Mann Shannon Cuthbertson John M Dale Malcolm Dale and Libby Dale John Davenport Wilma Davidson Dianne Davies Helen Day Nirvana Daylight-Baker and James Baker Bette Debenham Ted Delofski and Irene Delofski Ian Dewar Dorothy Diggle

Judith Dixon Trisha Dixon Burkitt Sam Dominguez and Jill Dominguez James Donaldson and Cathy Michael Helen Douglas Susan Duffy Robyn A Duncan Karen Dundas Rosemary Dupont Gay Emmerson Jill Margaret Evans Mary Falconer Boot Family Nowla Farwley Emeritus Professor Norm Feather Ilma Ferguson Richard Field and Jean Field Alex Fischl and Rosalind Fischl Brian Fitzpatrick Cheryllee Flanagan and Peter Flanagan Jo-Anne Flatley-Allen Jane Flecknoe Lynn Fletcher and Wayne Fletcher John Flynn and Marlene Flynn Gillian Foley Marion Forsey Jan Forshaw David Franks Mary-Rose Fraser Dr Peter Fullagar and Helen Topor Joan Fuller Helen A Fyfe Joseph Gani Neilma Gantner Roy Garwood Geraldine Gibbs and William Gibbs Lindsey Gilbert and David Gilbert Max Glenn and Monica Glenn Leonie J Godridge Shirley Gollings and Ian Gollings June P Gordon Lyn Gorman Eileen Gorst Ross Gough Gillian Gould Elizabeth Grant Dr Adam Graycar and Elizabeth Percival GNF Gregory and AL Gregory Dr Kate Guy Claire Haley Kerri Hall and Christopher Baker Malcolm Hanratty and Maureen Hanratty Sheryl Hansen and Geoff Davis Yvonne Harrington Glenys Harris Pat Harvey and Frank Harvey Janet Hayes Rosalind Hayward Katrina Higgins Dr Marian Hill Colin Hill and Linda Hill Gordon Hill and Pamela Hill Robert Hitchcock OAM Joanne Hocking Earle S Hoffman OAM Lindsay Hogan John Hole Bruce Hood and Genelle Hood Chris Howard and Mary Howard C Humphreys Judith Hurlstone and Clive Hurlstone Pat Hutchinson and Gordon Hutchinson

John Hyndes and Danielle Hyndes OAM Marianne Ilbery John Jackson and Ros Jackson Lucie Jacobs Denise James Dr Victoria Jennings Wayne F Joass Judy Johnson Dr Joseph V Johnson CSC, AAM FayElaine Johnston Brian Jones Andrew Jones-Roberts and Wendy Jones‑Roberts David Kennemore and Rosemary Kennemore Robert Kenyon Arthur Kenyon and Helen Kenyon Ron Kirkland and Christobel Kirkland Angus Kirkwood Jeanette Knox Grace Koch Veronica Krizaic Ted Kruger and Gerry Kruger Faye Anita Lee Jennifer Lee and Robert Lee Dr Frederick Lilley and Penelope Lilley Beryl Lind Hoa Luu Judith N Macintyre Brigitte Mackay Diane Mackay Dr Stephen G Macnamara Dr Bruce Marshall and Robin Coombs Margaret J Mashford Sally-Anne Mason Judy Matear and Bruce Matear AM Paul Mattiuzzo and Deborah Mattiuzzo Douglas McAlister and Fleur McAlister Christopher McCarthy and Diana McCarthy Susan Clare McCarthy Kon Patricia McCullough Patricia McGregor Patricia McPherson Mary McQuade Carol Anne McQueen James McRae Tina Merriman Michele Black Creations Jill Mihalyka Clive Millen and Jennifer Millen Dr Robert Miller and Mary Ellen Miller The Hon Geoffrey Miller and Rhonda Miller Prof Elizabeth Minchin and Tony Minchin Esther Missingham Ingrid A Mitchell Jon Molvig and Beverly Molvig Ross Monk and Beth Monk Margaret A Mooney Andrew Moorhead Jean Moran Dr John Morris Dr Elizabeth Morrison Margaret Morrow Janet Moyle Alison Muggridge Angus Muir Joananne Mulholland Peter Murphy Geoff Murray-Prior and Gillian Murray-Prior

In memory of Bill Nash Margaret Naylor Victor B Noden Patricia Nossal Kathleen Y Nowik Marie Oakes Natasha Oates Simon O’Halloran and Barbara O’Halloran Alison Orme Dr Milton Osborne Nadine Owen John Parker and Joss Righton Jill Parsons Ann Parsons and Peter Parsons Kim Paterson Judith Pettiford David E Pfanner Caroline Phillips Ron Price and Fay Price Anne S Prins Muriel Rafferty Margaret Raynor Ardyne Reid William James Reid and Judith Robin Reid The Hon Margaret Reid AO Helen Rey Dr Peter Richards in memory of Shirley Richards Mary E Riek Ritchie and Mawson family Gavin Sean Roberts Jovanka Rojanjic Dr David Rosalky and Adele Rosalky Alan Rose and Helen Rose James Ross and Heather Ross Roslyn Russell Raoul Saltpeter and Roslyn Mandelberg Sue Schouten Annette Searle Prof Ivan Shearer Rosamond Shepherd ML Sibly and Judith Sibly George Skilton and Irene Skilton Mike Slee and Judith Slee Roy F Smalley Elizabeth J Smith Jennifer Smith Wendy Smith Margaret Smither and Fiona Edwards in memory of William Smither Rick Smyth and Jane Smyth Phyllis Somerville Spectrum Consultancy Pty Ltd Carolyn Spiers Andrew Spilva and Vivian Spilva Carolyn Spittle and Murray Spittle David Stanley and Anne Stanley Dr Richard Stanton Meryl Stanton The Stefanoff family S Joy Stewart Robyn Stone Nea Storey

Elizabeth Storrs Susan Stratigos Steven R Stroud Charles Stuart and Gay Stuart Judith Sutton Elinor Swan Robert Swift and Lynette Swift Prof Ken Taylor and Maggie Taylor Claudette Taylor in memory of Dunstan The Taylor-Cannon family Susan Telford Jason Thomas Ann Thompson Jacqueline Thomson Helen Todd Sylvia Tracey Helen Tuite Janice C Tynan Niek Van Vucht and Jenny Van Vucht Steensen Varming Morna Vellacott Derek Volker and Susan Volker Jean Wallace George A Wallens Brenton Warren Dr Hilary Warren Donald Waterworth Adele Weatherall Joyce P West Norman Wheatley and Joy Wheatley Patricia White Rowena Whittle Shelagh Whittleston Rev George Wilkins Muriel Wilkinson Alex Williams and Jean Williams David Williams and Margaret Williams Andrew Williamson Ian Wilson Julia Wilson Liz Wilson Lynette Wilson Bruce Wilson and Karen Wilson Robine Wilson and the late Donald Wilson Gwen Wilton Dr Gwen Woodroofe Patricia Woodruff Ellen Woodward Richard Wotton and Prudence Wotton Diane Wright Margaret Wright and Ron Wright Evelyn E Young Ronald Zahorodny Giovanna Zeroni and 190 donors who wish to remain anonymous

Melody Gough Memorial Fund Ted Delofski and Irene Delofski

South Australian Contemporary Art Fund Susan Armitage Macquarie Group Foundation

For more information about developing creative partnerships with the National Gallery of Australia, contact: Nicole Short on +61 2 6240 6781 or nicole.short@nga.gov.au For more information about making a donation, contact: Maryanne Voyazis on +61 2 6240 6691 or maryanne.voyazis@nga.gov.au

ARTONVIEW 39

Members news Members of the National Gallery of Australia play a vital role in sustaining the arts in Australia.

As a member, you can play your part in the life of the Gallery and enjoy the many benefits this brings to you and the community. To become a member, go to nga.gov.au/Members or free call 1800 020 068.

Renaissance

Melbourne Cup lunch

During summer, members and their guests enjoyed the many special events associated with the Gallery’s major exhibition Renaissance. If you have yet to see these exquisite works of art from one of the most significant periods in art history, or to participate in the various associated programs, we encourage you to book now.

You only have until 9 April before these exceptionally beautiful paintings must return to the north of Italy.

On the first Tuesday in November, the Gandel Hall came alive with the buzz of the Melbourne Cup. Two exquisitely crafted Philip Treacy hats were displayed for the event, including the stunning one‑metre-wide ‘Poppy’ hat, and Dr Robert Bell AM, Senior Curator, Decorative Arts and Design, spoke the works.

Visit ticketek.com.au/Renaissance to purchase exhibition tickets.

Members Acquisition Fund 2011–12 The Members Acquisition Fund 2011–12 continues and we would like to thank those members who have already contributed to the acquisition of Margaret Olley’s important still life Hawkesbury wildflowers and pears 1973. With the support of our members, this painting, which is now hanging near the Membership office, will become a significant addition to the national art collection.

Lisa Styles and George Cora with Paolo Cavazzola’s Portrait of a lady c 1515–17 at the members opening for Renaissance: 15th and 16th century Italian paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, 9 December 2011.

40 ARTONVIEW

The MC for the lunch, ABC Local Radio breakfast presenter Ross Solly entertained members and guests. The event was a resounding win for everyone greatly due to the efforts and support of Ross Solly, Voyager Wines, Jane Brown Pearls, Aesop, Vintage Designs and County House.

Renew your membership with ease Members who have provided an email address will now receive their membership renewals direct to their inbox. To renew your membership to the Gallery simply click on the link in the email or visit us online at nga.gov.au/Members.

Winner of the best-hat prize Cynthia Bryson speaks to ABC Local Radio’s Ross Solly at the Melbourne Cup lunch held in the Gandel Hall, 1 November 2011.

Proud sponsor of the National Gallery of Australia’s retrospective Fred Williams: infinite horizons

Touring in 2012 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Vic 7 April – 22 July 2012 Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 31 August – 4 November 2012

Canberra | nga.gov.au

Fred Williams Iron ore landscape 1981, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, presented through the NGV Foundation by Rio Tinto, Honorary Life Benefactor, 2001. © estate of Fred Williams

Your Renaissance package includes overnight accommodation in a Park Room, buffet breakfast for two in the Promenade Cafe, two tickets to the exhibition, valet parking, a bottle of sparkling wine in your room and complimentary access to the Clubhouse Fitness Centre. Package is from $320 per couple. lu x u r y i s p e r son a l

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Excursions to Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro are also on the program.

Accommodation is in centrally-located four and five star hotels and many meals are included.

Itinerary Meet in Venice, transfer to Porec Porec - 3 nights Opatija - 3 nights Zadar - 2 nights Split - 4 nights Dubrovnik - 4 nights Fly Dubrovnik to Venice

Like what you see?

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You can also subscribe to our regular newsletters and e-bulletins.

Tour leader Your expert tour leader is archaeologist Anita Yousif. Anita works as a heritage consultant in Sydney and has an M Phil in archaeology from the University of Sydney. Anita was born in Croatia and has led many tours for Academy Travel.

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• 20% off the price of the exhibition catalogue for the Handwritten exhibition at the National Library available at the library book shop.

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Subject to availablility, and the dates of the exhibitions. Extra nights $188.00. Extra person is $40.00 per night. Discounted catalogue at the National Library only available for guests who book accommodation through The Brassey of Canberra. Library only package cost $207.00

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Lazard, one of the world’s pre-eminent corporate advisory firms, congratulates the National Gallery of Australia on Renaissance: 15th and 16th century Italian paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, another stunning exhibition for the people of Australia.

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Marco del Buono and Apollonio di Giovanni (attributed) Love procession c 1440s (detail), Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, bequest of Antonietta Noli, widow of Carlo Marenzi, 1901

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Jacopo Bassano Madonna and Child with the young Saint John the Baptist c 1542, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, bequest of Mario Frizzoni, 1966

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AUTUMN 2012 | 69

RENAISSANCE

11 May – 22 July 2012 nga.gov.au

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2ND NATIONAL INDIGENOUS ART TRIENNIAL EUGENE VON GUERARD PLAY

Danie Mellor Mamu/Ngagen/Ngajan peoples Welcome to the Lucky Country 2009, on loan from artist and private lender