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AusTrALIAn ArT ACQuIsITIons
Anthony Alder
Heron’s home
1895
anthony alder, a colonial Queensland
taxidermist, was widely admired for his
dioramas. he was also well regarded as
a painter of birds, emulating the studies
of earlier colonial artist silvester diggles
(1817–80).
Heron’s home
— acquired with funds from
the estate of Jessica ellis through the
Queensland art gallery Foundation —
was included in the 1897 Queensland
international exhibition, which also featured
the first australian art work purchased by
the Queensland art gallery,
Care
c.1893
by Josephine muntz-adams. the subject
of
Heron’s home
is a pair of nankeen night
herons. native to large parts of australia,
the herons frequent wetlands, river margins
and mangroves around brisbane, and
here they are depicted in a naturalistic
riverine setting against a larger Queensland
landscape.
Anthony Alder
/ 1838–1915 / England/Australia /
Heron’shome
1895 /
Oil on canvas / 102 x 82cm / Purchased 2011 with funds from the
Estate of Jessica Ellis through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation
Charles Blackman
(
Self-portrait in front of a boarding house,
Spring Hill
) 1951
(
Self-portrait in front of a boarding house,
Spring Hill
) represents a strong personal,
physical and artistic link to brisbane, and
demonstrates the major influence that
charles blackman’s sojourn in Queensland
had on the artist’s career from the late
1940s.
blackman’s technique of drawing a dry
brush loaded with white paint over a black
ground creates the effect of eroded paint on
the exterior of the weatherboard building.
the subject is reminiscent of the timber
and tin architecture that defined brisbane’s
inner suburbs at the time.
Charles Blackman
/ Australia b. 1928 / (
Self‑portrait in frontofa
boardinghouse,SpringHill
) 1951 / Enamel on board / 75 x 63cm /
Purchased 2011. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation / © Charles
Blackman, 1928. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney, 2011
Ian Fairweather
Trotting race
c.1956
horses were one of ian Fairweather’s
favourite subjects. in this work, the animals,
in full flight around the racetrack, are
captured in a fluid, free-flowing line; the
drivers are visibly straining to hold their
charges. the splashes of colour add a
powerful vibrancy to the work, particularly
the use of bright blue, which the gallery’s
paper conservator has identified as reckitt’s
blue (a laundry whitener). this work was
first exhibited at the macquarie galleries
in sydney in 1957, and dates from a series
created between 1955 and 1956, in which
Fairweather often combined human figures
and animals to embody movement and
energy.
this work was a gift of the Josephine
Ulrick and win schubert Foundation for the
arts through the Queensland art gallery
Foundation, donated through the australian
government's cultural gifts program.
Ian Fairweather
/ Scotland/Australia 1891–1974 /
Trotting race
c.1956 / Gouache on cardboard / 57 x 50.6cm (irreg.) / Gift of the
Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Foundation for the Arts through
the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation, 2011. Donated through the
Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / © Ian Fairweather,
1956/DACS. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney, 2011
