Jubilee exhibition of Australian art

appreciation shown the 'moderns,' invited a numbe r o f the less orthodox painters to J o s hua Smith's portrait o f his parents, which, besides being a n admirable arrangement exhibit with them a t the Grosvenor Galleries. Besides the younger group, which included in form a n d colour, is suffused with a n affectionate tenderness which places it also o n a de Mestre, Grace Cossington Smith, Adelaide Perry a n d myself, there were some painters plane above the photographic interpretation so common with portrait painters. who were already established i n public esteem, such as Margaret Preston, always a cham- Russell Drysdale, in his pictures o f country towns and outback life generally, has opened pion o f new ideas a nd represented i n the present exhibition by a characteristic flower u p a new vision o f this aspect o f Australian life. His pictures o f the erosion belt are a poig- piece o f t ha t period, a nd J o h n D. Moore, who by his work a n d influence over a numb e r o f n a n t expression o f desolation a n d destruction. years did mu c h to gain recognition for the younger painters. So came into being the T h e Australian mentality is perhaps too realistic to b e overmuch attracted by the Contemporary Group, which thereafter provided a t its annual exhibitions a n opportunity problems o f wh a t is usually called abstract or non-representational painting, that is, a com- for young painters o f experimental ideas to exhibit their work. position which relies for its appeal purely on the significance o f its disposition o f colours By the early thirties large reproductions o f pictures by Cezanne, Gauguin, V a n Gogh, a n d shapes a n d no t on its reference to anything in the world o f reality. Matisse a n d other moderns h a d begun to appear a n d the influence o f artists returning Eric Wilson, whose premature death in 1946 was a distinct loss to Australian Art, has from Europe h a d broadened the field o f appreciation. already been mentioned for his Stove Theme, a nd it was his intention to carry these I n the Archibald Prize Competition o f 1931, William Frater, o f Melbourne, entered researches further. And in the work o f Constance Stokes, although the h uma n figure three portraits which showed a strong influence o f Cezanne. Frater had, as far back as a n d natural objects are used as a basis for the composition, the picture relies for its 1925, become interested in the work o f this a nd other French masters o f modern art, a n d appeal chiefly on the moving power o f its design, both in shape a n d colour, rather than associated w t h h im a t this time was Arnold Shore. Both these painters as time went on o n any special reference to the world o f reality. Justin O'Brien likewise relies considerably infused mu c h o f their own personalities into the modern idiom, a n d Arnold Shore was o n a forceful design in full colour. courageous enough to hold a one-man show o f his work in 1928. Thereafter a t the annual Another field which has been explored by some contemporary painters is the quality exhibition o f the 'Twenty Melbourne Painters,' Frater, Shore, A. M. Plante a n d Isabel a n d texture o f surfaces a n d the results to b e obtained by using different mediums such as Tweddle regularly exhibited works inspired by modern French ideals. There was mu c h enamel a n d the mixing o f substances like sand a n d sawdust with oil paint. I n Wilson's discussion a n d heated argument in Melbourne in those days, bo t h i n the press a n d among Warriston Road we see his preoccupation with the textures o f oil paint, a n d Sali Herman the opposing schools o f thought. Nevertheless, Arnold Shore proposed to George Bell, i n his studies o f slum streets a n d old buildings has experimented extensively i n this who h a d also become interested i n modern trends, t ha t they should start a school on these direction, while Sidney Nolan has used enamel exclusively i n his large pictures. lines, which they did in 1932, a n d were able to attract ma n y pupils, some o f whom were Surrealism, the a r t o f the subconscious, like abstract art, has found few adherents in later to b e counted among the most distinguished artists in this country. Australia. James Gleeson is perhaps the only painter to give his energies entirely to this Th e r e h a d also i n the 'thirties been a welcome change in the attitude o f critics. T h e mysterious form o f expression, and, while the majority o f sculptors here continue to make late Kenne t h Wilkinson, in Sydney, a n d the late Basil Burdett, in Melbourne, gave 'living images' o f notable people for ou r public monuments, Lyndon Dadswell a nd others sympathetic notices, a n d public opinion generally was growing more favourable, have experimented in plastic design to create shapes t ha t will be significant as such with- T h e Contemporary Ar t Society was formed i n Melbourne i n the early years o f the war, ou t being constrained to conform to natural appearances. with branches in Sydney a n d i n Adelaide. Crowds flocked to its early exhibitions a n d I n the space o f this foreword it is not intended to give a critical evaluation o f all the 'Contemporary Art,' especially among the young, became something o f a vogue, works shown i n this exhibition. T h e names a n d pictures quoted have been used mainly A great impetus was given to the Contemporary Movement a n d to a r t i n Australia to give a n idea o f the various tendencies a n d characteristics o f the contemporary movement generally b y the return to this country in the year the Second World W a r began o f a large in Australia, which, although a t present strongly savouring in some respects o f European numb e r o f artists a nd students who h a d been working abroad. These included Dobell, influences, is nevertheless o f a vitality a n d vigour which promises well for the future of Russell Drysdale, Eric Wilson, J . Carington Smith a n d Donald Friend, the latter a Australian Art. draughtsman o f distinction a n d o f whimsical wit. Th e r e were also several artists from European countries who migrated to Australia about this time, most notable o f wh om is Desiderius Or ban , who has set u p a school in Sydney a n d has done mu c h both by his fine work a n d by lecturing a n d teaching to cultivate standards o f taste in this country. i William Dobell, around whom such a controversy raged a t the time o f his winning the I Archibald Prize in 1943, has h a d so mu c h written abou t his provocative a r t t h a t it is sufficient to say here t ha t h e is not, as so many believe, a disciple o f the 'crazy moderns,' I b u t has based his a r t on old masters, such as Remb r a nd t a n d Goya. I t may, however, have i been the influence o f the modern French painter, Soutine, which inspired him i n giving his portraits t ha t satirical grotesquerie which so aroused the ire o f certain sections o f i the public. I t is interesting to compare his sometimes cynical interpretation o f character with 18 1 19