Impressionists impress

The National Gallery of Victoria is staging what it promises will be the most important exhibition of Australian Impressionist art to be held in decades at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Melbourne opening 31 March 2007.

Australian Impressionism will bring together over 250 works covering the momentous period between 1883 and 1897, a time of peak creativity and achievement in the history of Australian art.

The collection will display the beauty and breadth of works by the five leading Australian Impressionist painters: Charles Conder, Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Jane Sutherland.

“This is a hugely important event”, said NGV Director Dr Gerard Vaughan. “It will be the greatest concentration of masterpieces by the leading figures of Australian Impressionism ever to be seen in one place. This is a truly national exhibition and every Australian should see it”, he said.

At the heart of the exhibition will also be a near-recreation of the famous 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition of 1889, which caused uproar and excitement when it was first displayed.

Frances Lindsay, Deputy Director, NGV Australia, says: “The exhibition will astound and delight viewers. It will feature major works by these five artists as they created unforgettable landscapes, portraits and even symbolist works during these key years. The exhibition builds on the NGV’s groundbreaking exhibition of 1985, Golden Summers: Heidelberg and Beyond, and we are confident Australian Impressionism will be immensely popular with audiences of all ages.”

Tom Roberts’ national treasure Shearing the Rams, conserved and cleaned by NGV staff, will be revealed to the public in its refreshed state for the first time. With the removal of layers of varnish discolored through the decades, this magnificent painting can now be seen as Roberts originally painted it.

Reuniting masterpieces from public and private collections in Australia and overseas, Australian Impressionism will also introduce a number of important lesser-known and recently rediscovered pictures.

The exhibition has also been a very collaborative project: public galleries around Australia have generously allowed their iconic works to be included.

“It is due to their great generosity that we are able to reveal so many facets of this fascinating period, and we warmly thank them for their wonderful support,” said Ms Lindsay.

The term ‘Australian Impressionism’ is derived from the ‘plein-air’ movement in Europe and is also closely identified with the development of a national school of painting in Melbourne and Sydney.

Roberts, McCubbin, Streeton and Conder set up the first artist camps at Box Hill, Mentone and Eaglemont during the late 1880s. In this period they produced some of Australia’s most famous landscapes, as did Jane Sutherland, who was considered the leading female artist of the Impressionist group.

“The Impressionists formed the first significant art movement in Australia,” said Terence Lane, Senior Curator of Australian Art at the NGV.

“Although they were city dwellers, an evolving nationalism led these painters to focus on the landscape in an effort to distil the essence of the Australian way of life.”

The famous 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition of 1889 that was held at Buxton’s Galleries in Swanston Street Melbourne is a core feature of the exhibition and originally featured 183 works, many of which were painted onto cigar box lids. Over 60 of these works will be reunited for Australian Impressionism.

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Australian Impressionism

Venue: NGV Australia, Ian Potter Centre, Federation Square, Melbourne
Dates: 31 March – 8 July 2007
Cost: Adult: $15
Concession: $10
Family: $35
(2 adults / 3 children)
NGV Member: $6
NGV Member Family: $16
Unlimited entry tickets
Adult: $35
Concession: $25
NGV Member Adult: $15)

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