Transcript Aust Art History 1919-1930

Australian Art –
Early Modernism
1919-1939
Australia felt the enormous impact of World War 1 –
out of the 400,000 men who went to Europe to fight
the war, 60,000 did not return.
The war broke out in the declining years of the
Heidelberg School.
The war was a fundamental event in Australia’s
history and in the formation of a national
Consciousness.
Women Artists and Modernism
During this period, women artists came to the fore. As a result of the
two world wars, the absence of a large portion of the male
population and subsequent extension of responsibilities, women
gained an independence and confidence that they carried into the art
world, becoming more experimental and adapting to new styles,
techniques and materials.
Women artists played a significant role in the development of
Australian modernism. The increase in the recognition and activities
of women artists was a reflection of the growing independence and
emancipation of women.
Female artists travelled and studied overseas. Many female artists
chose not to marry because of the possibility of conflict between
family life and their art studies.
Grace Cossington Smith
(1892-1984)
Grace Cossington Smith, The Sock Knitter, 1915
Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 cm
Grace Cossington Smith, Self Portrait, c1918
oil on canvas on board, 26 x 21 cm
Grace Cossington Smith, The Bridge in Curve, 1926
Tempera on composition board83.8cm x 111.8cm, NGV
Grace Cossington Smith, The Curve of the Bridge, 1928-1929
oil on cardboard
Grace Cossington Smith, Eastern Road Turramurra, 1926
Oil on board, Australian National Gallery
Grace Cossington Smith, The Lacquer Room, 1935-36
Oil on paperboard on plywood, 74 x 90.8 cm
Grace Crowley(1890-1951)
Grace Crowley, Girl with goats, 1928
Oil on canvas, 54 x 72.7 cm
Grace Crowley, Gwen Ridley, 1930
Oil on canvas on board, 72 x 53 cm
Grace Crowley, Abstract, 1951
Oil on cardboard, 69 x 91 cm
Dorrit Black (1891-1951)
Dorrit Black, The Bridge, 1930
Oil on canvas on board, 60 x 81 cm
Dorrit Black, Coast Road, 1942
Oil on composition board, 45.5 x 55 cm
Dorrit Black, The olive plantation, 1946
oil on canvas, 63.5 x 86.5 cm
Dorrit Black, The Castle, c 1940
Lino cut
Thea Proctor (1879-1966)
Thea Proctor, The balcony, c.1919
Lithograph
Thea Proctor, Bookplate, 1927
Woodcut
Thea Proctor, Frangipani, 1928
Woodcut, 28 x 22 cm
Thea Proctor, The Rose, c1928
woodcut, hand coloured with gouache 22.2 x 20.8 cm
Margaret Preston (1875-1963)
Margaret Preston, Waratahs, 1925
woodcut, hand-coloured
Margaret Preston, Basket of Australian flowers, 1925
Woodcut, hand coloured
Margaret Preston Implement Blue, 1927
Oil on canvas on paperboard, 42.5 x 43 cm
Margaret Preston, Aboriginal Flowers, 1928
Oil on canvas, 53.6 x 45.8 cm
Margaret Preston, West Australian banksias, 1929
Woodcut, hand coloured
Roland Wakelin (1887-1971)
Roland Wakelin, A Tasmanian Landscape
Oil on linen on board, 40 x 53 cm
Roland Wakelin, Wellington Rooftops, c1913
oil on board, 73x52 cm
Roland Wakelin, The Bridge under Construction, c 1928-29
Oil on canvas on board, 101.2 x 121.6 cm
Roy de Maistre
(or Roi de Mestre) (1894-1968)
Roy De Maistre, Rhythmic composition in yellow green Minor, 1919
Oil on cardboard, 83.4 x 116.2 cm
Roy de Maistre, Berry's Bay, Sydney Harbour, 1920
oil on board, 24.0 x 33.0 cm
Roy de Maistre, A painted picture of the Universe, 1920-34
Oil on board, National Gallery of Victoria