Podcast appearances and mentions of russell drysdale

The voices of Australian history come to life in an oral history exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery featuring the extensive audio archive of Hazel de Berg.

The voices of Australian history come to life in an oral history exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery featuring the extensive audio archive of Hazel de Berg.

Painting the Australian characterAn exploration of the quintessential Australian artist, with an international reputation and a knighthood! NGV Acting Curator of Australian Art, Humphrey Clegg

A quality of StrangenessHugely popular, Russell Drysdale’s used his characteristic palette of ochres, browns and red to create this work, Moody’s pub.

Russell Drysdale (1912 England - 1981 Australia), Emus in a landscape 1950. Painting, oil on canvas, 101.6 h x 127.0 w. Purchased 1970. © Estate of Russell Drysdale.

Russell Drysdale (England 1912 – Australia 1981), The drover's wife c.1945. Painting, oil on canvas, 51.5 h x 61.5 w cm. Gift of American Friends of the National Gallery of Australia, Inc., New York, NY, USA, made possible with the generous support of Mr and Mrs Benno Schmidt of New York and Esperance, Western Australia, 1987. © Estate of Russell Drysdale.

In his first lecture Rupert Murdoch scans the future and beholds a golden era. But will we be part of it? The Australia he sees simply is not prepared for the challenges ahead. A classic Russell Drysdale painting provides inspiration.

In 1951 Russell Drysdale spent a number of months travelling throughout northern Queensland and the Cape York Peninsula. In response to this trip he painted Boy running, Cooktown. This painting combines a number of characteristic Drysdale motifs: a long street leading to a vanishing point on the horizon, a building with veranda in profile and a dramatic sky balanced by a vast foreground. There is an inherent drama in this image of a young Indigenous boy running across the street, his action rupturing the stillness of the picture. Drysdale depicts the boy in dynamic movement, yet he seems suspended in time and space. His activity in the isolated street begs the question: where is he running? In his paintings of Australia’s remote towns and settlements Drysdale conveyed a sense of life lived in connection with the land. He explored the spatial, environmental and personal elements that contribute to our experience of place. As in so many of Australia’s remote country towns, the main street in this painting includes the iconic structure of a war memorial. In contrast to the youthful potential of the boy, the memorial is a reminder of history and the loss of many young Australians in wartime.

… it is continually exciting, these curious and strange rhythms which one discovers in a vast landscape, the juxtaposition of figures, of objects, all these things are exciting. Add to that again the peculiarity of the particular land in which we live here, and you get a quality of strangeness that you do not find, I think, anywhere else. Russell Drysdale 19601 In 1944 Russell Drysdale was commissioned by the Sydney Morning Herald to accompany journalist Keith Newman to western New South Wales to document the effects of the drought. This experience significantly changed the way Drysdale looked at the Australian landscape. The photographs and sketches he made on the trip informed much of his work in the following years. In Emus in a landscape Drysdale has explored the strange and surreal qualities of the Australian outback. The native birds move quietly through the landscape, passing a precariously arranged structure of wood and corrugated iron. This sculptured mass of refuse represents the remains of a previous settlement. It could be an abandoned dwelling or a wrecked ship on a dried inland sea. In Emus in a landscape Drysdale has created a sliding space between reality and imagination, fact and myth, and has captured the vast space and timelessness of the Outback. 1 Russell Drysdale, interview by Hazel de Berg, 1960, Canberra: National Library of Australia

Talking with artist Amanda Penrose Hart about her exhibition, New Painitngs, at the King Street Gallery in Sydney's Darlinghurst. Travelling in her portable studio, a classic Aussie ute, Amanda discovers and paints exquisite landscapes in oil, depiciting the parched brown hills and valleys of the central west in New South Wales. In 2006, Amanda was an artist-in-residence at Haefliger's Cottage in the historic mining town of Hill End. Like many Australian artists before her, including Russell Drysdale, Donald Friend, Brett Whiteley, and John Olsen, Amanda is drawn to the eroded and raw landscape of this rural area, but she brings her own unique vision. Amanda is particularly attracted to the ubiquitous holiday caravans that sit dotted about in empty paddocks, frying in the midday heat. Although people are absent in these paintings, their presence is felt. A fascinating conversation with a rapidly rising contemporary Australian painter. Amanda's exhibition was sold out. Enjoy. To check out Amanda's work while listening to the interview, first hit play, then click this link: http://www.kingstreetgallery.com.au/artists/penrosehart.html