Australian Art: An introduction

The first true Australian artists were of course the Aboriginals, whose acclaimed rock art and ‘dot’ paintings have now achieved the full recognition they deserve.

At the start of the 19th century Australian art was dominated by Impressionist landscape paintings as made popular by the Heidelberg School of the 1880’s and 1890’s, and exhibitions of the time were filled with landscape scenes.

Frederick McCubbin is recognised as the first significant Australian-born non-Aboriginal artist. In 1885-86 McCubbin and other artists including Tom Roberts formed the Heidelberg School at Box Hill near Melbourne. Through experimentation and working with Tom Roberts, McCubbin developed the format for his paintings which involved setting local figures in a bush environment. McCubbin is recognised for his use of limited tonal values creating united pictures where the object becomes a part of the whole painting. Lost and Home Again are amongst his most famous paintings

After World War 1 international modernism began to influence Australian art and the 1930s saw a number of different institutions established. New exhibitions of Australian art - both representational and abstract – emerged, such as the Modern Art Centre in Sydney and the Contemporary Art Society in Melbourne.
By the late 1930’s some contemporary landscape painters began to adopt and modernise the formal devices and pictorial motifs inherent in Aboriginal art.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s Australian art was seeped in conflict between representational and non representational artists. The two groups made their rivalry public with a series of provocative exhibitions between the Antipodeans - figurative artists -  and the “Sydney 9 group” who were abstractionists.

However the next decade saw abstract art continue to dominate the Australian art scene. During this time artists such as Fred Williams, Ian Fairweather and Janet Dawson begin to base abstract art on the unique forms of the Australian landscape. Then in 1968 an exhibition titled The Field helped launch a new generation of Australian artists’ careers, who specialised in the use of ‘colour field’ abstraction.

The 1970’s is perhaps Australia’s most explosive decade with experimentation in different media forms drawing away from traditional forms of sculpture and painting. For the first time politics begins to influence Australian art, motivating artists to create socially engaged works.

During this era Brett Whiteley, one of Australia’s most revered artists, became known for his lack of inhibition and expressionism. During his career he won many prestigious prizes and awards and his work hangs in galleries throughout Australia and the world. He died tragically in 1992 from a heroin overdose.

By the 1980’s painting was once again recognised as a major form of visual art with the emergence of Neo-Expressionism. Painters begin to incorporate references to historical events in Australia.

For example, Bea Maddock is recognised for her ability to combine elements of Aboriginal and modernist art.
In the latter years of the decade Aboriginal art was finally seen as an important movement within twentieth century art. Places like the Kimberley and Queensland began to create contemporary paintings with distinct regional styles.

With the arrival of the new millennium Australian art has continued to diversity and experiments with many different forms and styles. The Australian art scene today is well patronised and supported with many artists gaining recognition on the international stage.