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T H E C O L L E C T I O N
2 0 1 3 R E V I E W
AUSTRAL I AN ART TO 1 9 7 5
Between 1947 and 1948, Sidney Nolan stayed in
Brisbane with local poet Barrett Reid and visited the
rainforests, swamps and lagoons of Fraser Island.
Named after Eliza Fraser, a Scottish woman who
was shipwrecked near the island in 1836, the story
of her survival and rescue inspired one of Nolan’s
most famous series of paintings. The fascinating and
compelling narrative and the Queensland settings of
Nolan’s Eliza Fraser works have wide appeal and hold
a particular interest for local audiences.
Platypus
Bay, Fraser Island
presents a dreamlike landscape
of lustrous blues and greens and is an important
addition to the Collection.
Sidney Nolan
|
PlatypusBay,Fraser
Island
1947 | Enamel on board |
76 x 105.5cm | Purchased 2013
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of
Modern Art Foundation
Australian war artists have made a rich contribution
to Australian art and played a significant role in how
we interpret our wartime history. One of Australia’s
earliest and most respected was George W Lambert.
(War composition)
c.1922 was painted after Lambert
had completed his appointment as a war artist and
had returned to Australia in 1921. This tranquil rural
scene, gifted to the Gallery by Philip Bacon,
AM
,
is marred by the blasted stump of a tree, broken
fence palings and the carcass of a horse. In the
background, the open fields appear to be marked by
what could be trenches and bomb craters; the only
sign of potential life is a group of buildings.
George W Lambert
/
(Warcomposition)
c.1922 / Oil on canvas / Gift of Philip
Bacon,
AM
, through the Queensland
Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Foundation 2013. Donated through
the Australian Government’s Cultural
Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland
Art Gallery
