QAG-2015-21

LURE of THE SUN : Charles Blackman in Queensland LURE of THE SUN: Charles Blackman in Queensland page 11. page 10. FOREWORD Chris Saines, cnzm Director, Queensland Art Gallery Gallery of Modern Art The Glencore Queensland Artists’ Gallery tells stories of Queensland — not just of the artists born here or who permanently call Queensland home, but also of those who have been inspired by the state or, in some measure, have history here. In ‘Lure of the Sun: Charles Blackman in Queensland’, the Gallery looks at the work of Australian artist Charles Blackman through the period of time spent in Brisbane and other parts of the state, and the influence he exerted on the friends he made here. Born in Sydney, and based there and in Melbourne for much of his career, Blackman nevertheless had many connections to Queensland. In 1948, he hitchhiked to Brisbane where he became acquainted with members of the Miya Studio and the affiliated Barjai writers, including his wife-to-be, Barbara Patterson. It was she who introduced him to the stories of Lewis Carroll that would underpin his career-defining ‘Alice’ series. It was here, too, that he became acquainted with the early works of Sidney Nolan, whose formative influence would be seen in Blackman’s paintings City lights and Barnes Auto, Brisbane , both 1952 and both in the Gallery’s Collection. His similarly crucial ‘Schoolgirl’ series was influenced by sensational murders in Melbourne in 1921 and Brisbane in 1952, while his ‘Faces and flowers’ series was inspired by his mother-in-law’s garden and flower farms at Mount Tamborine. A series of exhibitions at Brisbane’s Johnstone Gallery — itself hugely influential on the formation of the state’s modern art movement and a champion of some of Australia’s pioneering artists of the era — helped secure Blackman a national reputation. Indeed, he was recognised as a Queensland artist when he was awarded the Helena Rubinstein Travelling Art Scholarship, which enabled him to go to London in 1961. Even after this time, Blackman visited Queensland regularly and the state’s influence continued to be seen in his work, with an extended period spent with his second wife Genevieve de Couvreur at Buderim in the early 1980s. This exhibition draws together works from public and private collections that were made in Queensland, or which refer to Blackman’s time here. Also included are works by friends and artists associated with the Miya Studio — Laurence Hope, Laurence Collinson and close confidant, Brisbane artist Jon Molvig, whose portrait of Blackman from 1957 also features. I congratulate Michael Hawker, Associate Curator of Australian Art, for this engaging journey through Blackman’s time in Queensland and his assessment of its influence on his work. In this volume, Michele Helmrich, University of Queensland Art Museum Associate Director (Curatorial), has further explored Blackman’s involvement with the Miya Studio artists, which was crucial to his time in Brisbane. One of the Gallery’s expert painting conservators, Anne Carter, has contributed a fascinating insight into Blackman’s use of homemade and commercial house paints in the 1950s, helping to unravel some of the mysteries of the artist’s working methods, and expanding on similar research into materials used by Ian Fairweather. In a first for the Gallery, this conservation work was funded by proceeds from an auction at the QAGOMA Foundation’s 2014 Annual Dinner, and I thank those who contributed. I thank Glencore for their ongoing support of the Queensland Artists’ Gallery, without which we could not undertake the vital research and exhibition of the work of Queensland artists in projects like this one. I acknowledge the lenders: University of Queensland Art Museum for their loan of an extensive suite of works on paper, as well as the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Thanks must also be extended to our private lenders Philip Bacon, AM , James and Franki Birrell, Barbara Blackman, AO , Ann and Peter Brazel, Lauraine Diggins, Margaret McGregor, Meredith McKinney and Frank and Merril Thompson. ‘Lure of the Sun’ tells a brilliant Queensland story about the development of one of the country’s foremost artists, one we’re very pleased to shed more light on. The chase 1952 Tempera on board / 75 x 99.5cm / Gift of Rob and Paula McLean 2011 / Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra