I was fortunate to visit sunny Brisbane again last week, which in mid-August, when Sydney is around 11 degrees overnight was a blessing – 26 degree days were just so lovely!
I took the bus from Chermside where my client’s conference was next day to the City, which was in itself an adventure – the buses have a lot of their own tunnels just for them to run in. I got to the Queensland Art Gallery without too much fuss.
I was surprised / happy that the permanent/in-house exhibitions they had there had a strong representation of women artists (not 50/50). But it is mystifying that these fabulous artists were not acknowledged or displayed for sometimes 100 years (or more, I guess).
Below you’ll find the images of the pieces, and here’s a list of the women I found (or re-discovered).
- Gwendolyn Grant 1877 – 1968
- Vida Lahey 1882 – 1968 (I have been a fan of her Monday Morning of women doing the laundry since I first saw it, probably 25 years ago)
- Vera Leichney 1886 – 1951
- Rose Simmonds 1877 – 1960
- Margaret Cilento 1923 – 2006
- Joy Roggenkamp 1928 – 1999
- Judy Cassab 1920 – 2015
- Madonna Staunton 1938 – 2019
And of course some Grace Cossington-Smith works, which are always beautiful.
I photographed a few other works I like by “minor” male artists (that’s a joke). You can see the images below.
I also loved Arthur Evan Read’s images of North Queensland towns (two things I love – colours that shine across the gallery space and buildings!).
I realise that i didn’t photograph the statement about the final model – it’s been hidden away for a few years, because it had complex instructions, so during covid the staff took the time to work it out, make a video and new instructions. i like that story. Here is more information about the piece. It’s called Small Figure Making and Recording History.
