She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism

Description

The Australian Impressionists are among the most loved figures of Australian art, and their work has long formed an imaginative backdrop to life in this country. She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism offers diverse perspectives on this complex movement and the artists who participated in it, drawing together the threads that comprise its multifaceted nature. This publication explores the importance of historical contexts, personal relationships, international influences, and the impact of place on the trajectory of Impressionism in Australia. Other art forms which intersected with Impressionism, including music and photography, are also considered in detail. With contributions by Anne Gray, Angela Hesson, Helen Ennis, Ann Galbally, Sophie Gerhard, Elizabeth Kertesz, Hannah Presley and MaryAnne Stevens, She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism presents new scholarship on the movement's most celebrated figures, as well as many lesser-known artists. It features more than 200 works from collections around Australia, several of which have undergone transformative conservation treatments.

Dr Anne Gray AM is an art historian and independent curator with more than forty years' experience working in art museums. She was head of Australian art at the National Gallery of Australia (2001-16), director of The Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia (1995-2001), head of art at the Australian War Memorial (1980-1995) and educator at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (1975-80). Dr Angela Hesson is Curator, Australian Painting, Sculpture and Decorative Arts (to 1980) at the National Gallery of Victoria. She has curated numerous exhibitions, including Hans and Nora Heysen: Two Generations of Australian Art (2019) and Love: Art of Emotion 1400-1800 (2017).