Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s

274 Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s 275 Peter Spearritt is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Queensland. He has a particular interest in how Australia has been depicted in visual culture, from painting and photography to travel promotion. He has written about how Brisbane and Sydney have been depicted in art and popular culture, and contributed to catalogues on Kenneth Macqueen and Margaret Olley. As the co-editor of the Queensland Places and Victorian Places websites, he is committed to increasing public knowledge about the histories of our towns and places, also evident in his book Where History Happened (2018), published by the National Library of Australia. As co-curator of the University of Queensland Art Museum exhibitions ‘Triumph in the Tropics: Selling Queensland’ (2009, with Dr Marion Stell) and ‘Defending the North: Queensland in the Pacific War’ (2005, with Michele Helmrich and Ross Searle), Peter has a particular interest in how Queensland presents itself to a variety of publics. In 2024, he donated a large collection of Australian travel and tourism ephemera (1880–2000) to the State Library of New South Wales. Chris Saines CNZM is Director, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. PUBLICATION Editing Mark Gomes, Senior Editor, Print and Digital Media; Rebecca Mutch, Editor; Stephanie Kennard, Acting Editor Design Amy West, Graphic Designer Artwork photography Nicholas Umek, Senior Photographer (unless otherwise credited; all other photography credited as known); Chloë Callistemon, Assistant Photographer; Joe Ruckli, Assistant Photographer Image assistance Shane Appleby, DAMS Administrator Further reading Jacklyn Young, Senior Librarian Copyright Kate Herford, Copyright Officer CONTRIBUTORS Samantha Littley is Curator, Australian Art, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, and the curator of ‘Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s’. Most recently, Samantha curated the career retrospective ‘eX de Medici: Beautiful Wickedness’ (2023) for the Gallery of Modern Art. Enjoying a varied career as a curator, writer and educator, Samantha has worked at a range of cultural institutions, including the Australian War Memorial, National Gallery of Australia and Australian National University, Canberra. From 2003 to 2008 she was Curator of Australian Art to 1970 at the Queensland Art Gallery. In this role she curated the retrospective ‘Making it Modern: The Watercolours of Kenneth Macqueen’. As Curator at The University of Queensland Art Museum (2010–18), her exhibitions included ‘Conflict: Contemporary Responses to War’ (2014), ‘Light Play: Ideas, Optics, Atmosphere’ (2015) and ‘Peter Hennessey: Making it Real’ (2015) — awarded Best University Art Museum Exhibition Catalogue at the 2016 AAANZ Conference. In 2019, Samantha completed her Master of Art History and Curatorial Studies (Advanced) at the Centre for Art History and Art Theory, Australian National University. She worked independently while completing her studies, curating the career survey ‘Lincoln Austin: The Space Between Us’ (2021) for Ipswich Art Gallery. Samantha Shellard, Conservator, Works on Paper Elizabeth Thompson, Preventive Conservator Michael Marendy, Textile Conservator Robert Zilli, Conservation Framer Emily Kelleher, Assistant Conservator, Paintings Margaret Barclay, Sculpture Conservation Intern Damian Buckley, Conservation Technician, Framing David Rousell, Mountcutter Emma Schmeider, Senior Registrar, Collection Management Liam Bryan-Brown, Associate Registrar, Loans & Acquisitions Holly Grech-Fitzgerald, Associate Registrar, QAG Collection Storage and staff Judy Gunning, Information and Publishing Services Manager Mark Gomes, Senior Editor, Print and Digital Media Rebecca Mutch, Editor Jacklyn Young, Senior Librarian and staff Amelia Gundelach, Media Manager Bronwyn Klepp, Head of Marketing Kylie Lonergan, Head of Business Development and Partnerships and staff Kelly Hughes, Executive Advisor, Directorate Dan Cameron, Senior Communication Officer and staff Julie Walsh, Foundation Manager Dominique Jones, Philanthropy Manager and staff Izabella Chabrowska, Manager, Retail Store Operations Tony Parker, Manager, Retail Sales and staff Tamsin Cull, Head of Public Engagement and staff Terry Deen, Head of Learning and staff Dr Nicholas O’Donnell, Head of Digital Shane Appleby, DAMS Administrator and staff INDIGENOUS ADVISORY PANEL David Williams, Chair Nancy Bamaga Dr Bianca Beetson Helena Gulash Jyi Lawton Stephanie Parkin Louisa Warren CURATORIAL MANAGER Ellie Buttrose, Curator, Contemporary Australian Art EXHIBITION CURATOR Samantha Littley, Curator, Australian Art CURATORIAL ASSISTANCE Dr Emily Poore, Assistant Curator, Australian Art PROJECT TEAM Kate Mathers, Exhibitions Manager Melinda Lee, A/Project Officer and staff Michael O’Sullivan, Design Manager Rebekah Falk, Senior Exhibition Designer Kristy Gethin-Jones, Exhibition Designer Amy West, Graphic Designer Brent Wilson, AV and Lighting Coordinator Chris Booth, Installation Coordinator Sebastien Foucault, Workshop Manager and staff Amanda Pagliarino, Head of Conservation and Registration Gillian Osmond, Conservator, Paintings Anne Carter, Conservator, Paintings MAJOR BENEFACTOR John Allpass Charitable Foundation PUBLICATION SPONSOR Gordon Darling Foundation PROJECT SUPPORT The Gallery sincerely thanks the many individuals, organisations and institutions involved for their assistance with this project, particularly the following: Michael Hawker, former Curator, Australian Art to 1980, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Michele Helmrich, former Associate Director (Curatorial), The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane Tim Roberts, Curator, David Roche Gallery, Adelaide COPYRIGHT Copyright in the artworks is held by the artists and/or their estates. IMAGE CREDITS Copyright of photographic images is held by individual photographers and institutions or QAGOMA. pp.14, 17, 41, 158, 159, 160–1, 163: © The Sidney Nolan Trust. All rights reserved. DACS/Copyright Agency, 2025 pp.25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 38, 43, 54, 55, 57, 58, 61, 63, 64: Images courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane p.34: Image courtesy: The University of Queensland, Brisbane / Photograph: Carl Warner pp.35, 136, 137, 155, 156, 157: © Max Dupain/Copyright Agency, 2025 pp.42, 56, 149, 150–1: © Charles Blackman/ Copyright Agency, 2025 p.45: Image courtesy: Newcastle Art Gallery / Photograph: Robbie Lessey pp.224, 225, 270–1: © Ray Crooke/ Copyright Agency, 2025 QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Professor Emeritus Ian O’Connor AC, Chair (to 30 June 2025) Liz Pidgeon, Deputy Chair Dr Bianca Beetson The Honourable Martin Daubney AM KC Gina Fairfax AC Catherine Sinclair Paul Taylor David Williams EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM Chris Saines CNZM, Director Simon Elliott, Deputy Director, Collection and Exhibitions Tarragh Cunningham, Assistant Director, Audiences, Development and Digital Duane Lucas, Assistant Director, Operations and Governance Simon Wright, Assistant Director, Learning and Public Engagement Acknowledgments