William Robinson 2016

WILLIAM ROBINSON

The artist’s garden, house and memories

AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S

60th Anniversary Exhibition 1956 - 2016

WILLIAM ROBINSON The artist’s garden, house and memories

Melbourne 14 June - 3 July 2016 Sydney 19 July - 7 August 2016

AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S

60th Anniversary Exhibition 1956 - 2016 1

Contents Ar tist statement by William Robinson

4-5

Australian Galleries 60th Anniversar y by Stuar t Pur ves

8-9

Australian Galleries: 60 years on by Caroline Field

10 - 11

Paintings

12 - 39

Pastels

40 - 61

Gouaches

62 - 65

Farmyard Series

66 - 73

Biographical Details

75 - 77

List of Works

79

3

I am eighty and for a while now the subject matter of my painting has shifted from the landscape to my house and garden. My mind is never far from the farms and animals and they too are very close to where I live.

I remember a film made in 1956 when Picasso was a little younger than I am now.

The French film maker was Henri-Georges Clouzot. The drawn images of Picasso were spontaneous and from memory. He went back over several motifs and I saw that in old age the artist had a whole visual history that he drew from. There was no sense that the artist should hesitate before re reading the images of his life.

I did a great deal of teaching in Colleges and now if I am asked what advice I would give to young artists, I would say make a life, create your art out of this life.

I am indeed fortunate that I made this life with my wife and family and they provide the life-spring for my art. This is always related to where we have lived – in the suburbs, on farms and near to the sea and some travelling, eg. to the Carnarvon Gorge in Central Queensland.

My day includes music and this helps me to allow intuition to resolve my work. It does take perseverance to stand for hours and larger works need weeks of primary work and months of return visits. A fresh eye can reveal if there are adjustments necessary for a full resolution.

I welcome the direct and honest responses of children to my work and I feel I am at my best when I have no need to explain what I am doing.

There is a short poem by Afanasy Fet (Russian 1820 – 1892) which seems to say what is important and what is left. Art is a solitary pursuit and my books provide the images of great art that I can no longer travel to see. This solitude includes my wife and is how I work now.

William Robinson, 2016

My genius, my angel, my friend (A. Fet) Is it not here that, like an insubstantial shadow, My genius, my angel, my friend, You converse quietly with me And hover quietly around?

And you give me timid inspiration, And heal this sweet sickness, And give me peaceful dreams, My genius, my angel, my friend!

5

7

Left: 35 Derby Street Collingwood, 1956.

Proposal for gallery exterior which Charles Bush painted prior to the gallery opening in 1956. At the time the gallery was just the square black factory building. In 1970 the driveway to the right with decorated panel along with the terrace house was purchased adding to the gallery space in which it operates to this day.

Right: 35 Derby Street Collingwood, 2016.

Above: 15 Roylston Street, Paddington Sydney, opened 1989 Right: 28 Derby Street, Collingwood Melbourne Stock Rooms, opened 2009

Anne Purves

Tam Purves

Australian Galleries 60th Anniversary We are very privileged that William Robinson agreed to exhibit his recent works marking this significant milestone for the Purves family.

It is also a great honour that Emeritus Professor Sasha Grishin AM will open the exhibition and speak of the gallery.

I consider myself most fortunate that my parents began a commercial art gallery in 1956 and named it Australian Galleries.

I was 10 years old then, little was I to know the decision would not only set their track in life but mine as well. I joined Tam and Anne in 1966 and my life has been filled with the most remarkable people ever since.

Stuart Purves 9

Australian Galleries: 60 years on Australian Galleries is one of the oldest, largest and most respected commercial galleries in Australia, and for more than six decades has represented the nation’s most distinguished artists, including Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd, John Brack, John Coburn, Inge King, Colin Lanceley, Sidney Nolan, Justin O’Brien, Margaret Olley, John Olsen, John Perceval, Lloyd Rees, William Robinson, Garry Shead, Jeffrey Smart, Tim Storrier, Albert Tucker, Brett Whiteley, Fred Williams and John Wolseley. It is an exceptional gallery that has made an indelible contribution to Australian art history, and has been a cornerstone of modern Australian art and artists.

The gallery was largely Anne Purves’s creation. Born of her appreciation for modern art and her aspirations to become an artist, her search for personal fulfilment led her down an alternative path within the creative world. In the 1940’s Anne was drawn to Melbourne’s artistic circles, where she developed an affinity with a new generation of modern artists. She became acutely aware of the lack of professional support and the limited opportunities for emerging and recognised artists to develop their practice. Sensing the need for a professionally run, commercial gallery dealing in contemporary art, she and her husband, Thomas ‘Tam’ Purves, made the ground-breaking decision to close their successful paper pattern-making business and convert their factory premises in Derby Street, Collingwood into an art gallery.

With only a few commercial galleries operating around Australia at the time, and the market for modern art yet to be consolidated, it was an enormous risk that would require determination and perseverance.

Australian Galleries quietly opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, 5 June 1956, becoming one of the first commercial art galleries dedicated to Australian art in post–World War II Melbourne. From the beginning, the gallery’s policy was to represent, promote and sell the work of living artists.

In the first two years of operation Australian Galleries presented a succession of remarkable exhibitions, including the now-iconic series of works: John Perceval’s ‘Williamstown’ and ‘Gaffney’s Creek’, John Brack’s ‘Nude’, and Arthur Boyd’s ‘Bride’. The commercial management of the new venture supported the artists, enabling Boyd and his family to go overseas for the first time, where he established his reputation as an international artist. The success of Brack’s exhibition provided the means for the artist to buy a family home.

In a developing market for modern figurative art, the gallery actively encouraged the interest of corporate and private collectors, and this propelled many artists to prominence. The successful exhibitions by Perceval,

Brack and Boyd, together with Albert Tucker, established a new commercial gallery structure to improve the value of art in Australia. It was a new dynamic for the Australian art world; a career for an artist was now a possibility.

Stuart Purves joined the family business in 1966, shortly before the death of his father. Anne was steadfast in her determination to continue the vision she and her husband had set out for the pioneering business and for the Australian art world. In what was to become the second era of the gallery, she continued to operate the business with the support of her son. It became an extraordinary partnership, which led the gallery to a new level of success and expansion. On Tuesday, 25 July 1989, Australian Galleries, Sydney was launched.

The unbeatable combination of Anne’s prominence in the art world and Stuart’s energy and commitment created an influential interstate commercial gallery set up, and today numerous significant works in major state and public collections owe their provenance to Australian Galleries.

Now in its sixtieth year of operation and under the sole national direction of Stuart, the gallery has added exhibition spaces, developed design and archive departments, and attracted a diverse range of excellent contemporary artists to join the gallery’s representation. Stuart’s partner Kerri Daniell entered the gallery in 2005 and has since been responsible for financially and technically driving the business creatively into the 21st century, leaving Stuart free to work closely with artists and clients. Stuart’s sister, Caroline Purves, manages the archives department and daughters Tamsin and Victoria, and more recently grandson Henry Renn, have become part of the family business.

Drawing on his family’s rich history and knowledge that has produced the country’s longest-serving, second-generation commercial art gallery, Stuart leads the venture within an ever-evolving and challenging art market, giving the public the confidence to partake in and enjoy the commercial art market. As an institution, Australian Galleries remains a pivotal force in Australian culture.

Caroline Field Australian Galleries Biographer April 2016

11

13

1. Jacaranda with ginger and lilies 2014 oil on linen 112 x 168 cm

15

17

2. Poinciana with allamanda and ferns 2015 oil on linen 112 x 168 cm

19

3. Native flowers with lime and fig trees 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm

4. Native flowers and gumnuts 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm

21

5. Verandah with king parrot 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm

6. Flowers from the garden 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm

23

7. Sunflowers and peaches 2014 oil on linen 82 x 66 cm

25

8. Self portrait with salmon heads 2014 oil on linen 78 x 53 cm

27

9. Still life with stunned mullet 2014 oil on linen 53 x 78 cm

10. Byron bouillabaisse 2014 oil on linen 53 x 78 cm

29

11. Still life with Moses perch 2014 oil on linen 41 x 56 cm

12. Fruit, vegetables and Dutch jug 2015 oil on linen 41.5 x 54.5 cm

31

13. Still life with duck eggs and herbs 2014 oil on linen 41 x 51 cm

14. Figure with fruit and bread 2013 oil on linen 41 x 51 cm

33

15. Ranunculus 2014 oil on linen 36 x 31 cm

16. Cherries 2014 oil on linen 36 x 31 cm

35

17. Arabian pot with apples 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm

18. Coffee with bread and jam 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm

37

19. Plums 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm

20. Tea with rock cakes 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm

39

41

21. Spring bouquet in Carnival glass jug 2014 pastel on paper 77 x 57 cm

22. Sunflowers, pomegranates and limes 2015 pastel on paper 77 x 57 cm

43

23. Amaryllis and apples 2015 pastel on paper 57 x 77 cm

24. Coffee and croissants 2015 pastel on paper 57 x 77 cm

45

25. Bouquet with fruit and yellow cloth 2015 pastel on paper 57 x 77 cm

26. Banksia and eucalypt flowers 2015 pastel on paper 71 x 56 cm

47

27. Pumpkin scones with fruit 2014 pastel on paper 52 x 69 cm

28. Daffodils, hyacinths and roses 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm

49

29. Poppies in Carlton Ware 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm

30. Ranunculus in Charlotte Rhead vase 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm

51

31. Edwardian jug and blue bottle 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm

32. Still life with Arabian pot 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm

53

33. Australian native flowers 2014 pastel on paper 48 x 63 cm

34. Mixed vegetables with copper pot 2015 pastel on paper 46 x 55 cm

55

35. Native flowers and watering can 2014 pastel on paper 29 x 36 cm

36. Summer flowers in Poole jug 2014 pastel on paper 29 x 36 cm

57

59

37. The pink chrysanthemum 2012 oil pastel on paper 29 x 33 cm

38. Native flowers with whisky jug 2012 oil pastel on paper 25 x 17 cm

61

63

39. Bouquet with iron pot 2013 gouache on paper 45 x 35 cm

40. Wattle, banksia, fruit and bread 2013 gouache on paper 28 x 38 cm

65

67

41. Chookyard with gobbler 2015 gouache on paper 35 x 50 cm

42. Farmyard with crossing paths 2015 gouache on paper 35 x 50 cm

69

43. Farmyard with clarion call 2015 gouache on paper 25 x 35 cm

44. Farmyard with feeding the chooks 2015 gouache on paper 25 x 35 cm

71

45. Farmyard with fence sitters 2015 gouache on paper 25 x 35 cm

73

William Robinson ~ select biographical details Born 1936, Brisbane, Australia SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016

‘The artist’s garden, house and memories’, Australian Galleries, Sydney

‘The artist’s garden, house and memories’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne

2015-16 ‘Inspirations’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 2014-15 ‘Infinite sphere’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 2014

Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane

2013

‘The farmyards’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

2012

‘Still life and landscape paintings 2010 – 2012’, Australian Galleries, Sydney

‘Still life and landscape paintings 2010 – 2012’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne

‘Insights’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

2011

‘William Robinson: The transfigured landscape’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane

2010

‘Hinterland: The rainforest works of William Robinson’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

‘Ekka series 1-20’, Phillip Bacon Heritage Gallery, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane

‘Twenty ink drawings, Eight paintings, One sculpture, New works 2009’, Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne

‘Twenty ink drawings, Eight paintings, One sculpture, New works 2009’, Australian Galleries, Roylston Street, Sydney

2009

‘Paintings 2009’, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane

2007

‘Paintings and Lithographs 2000 – 2007’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne

‘Paintings and Lithographs 2000 – 2007’, Australian Galleries, Sydney

2006

‘Paintings and Pastels 2006’, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane

2005

‘Landscapes’, Australian Galleries, Sydney

‘Landscapes’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne

2004

‘Place & Memory: The Graphic Work of William Robinson’, QUT Art Museum, travelling to Cairns Regional Art Gallery;

Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery; Gold Coast City Art Gallery; New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale;

Stonington Stables Museum of Art, Deakin University, Melbourne; Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery; Wagga Wagga Regional

Art Gallery

‘Self portraits 2004’, Australian Galleries Works on Paper, Melbourne

‘Self portraits 2004’, Australian Galleries Works on Paper, Sydney

‘Self portraits 2004’, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane

‘William Robinson: The Revelation of Landscape’, University of South Australia Art Museum, Adelaide 75

2003

Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane

‘William Robinson: The Revelation of Landscape’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney; & Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery,

Mornington, VIC

2002

Australian Galleries, Sydney

Australian Galleries, Melbourne

2001

‘Darkness and Light – The Art of William Robinson’, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Philip Bacon Gallery, Brisbane

Australian Galleries, Works on Paper, Melbourne

Australian Galleries, Works on Paper, Sydney

1998

Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney

1997

Ray Hughes Gallery, Savode, Brisbane

1996

Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney

1994

Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney

1992

Darren Knight Gallery, Melbourne

1991

‘Creation Landscape: Water and Land’, Ray Hughes Gallery stand, International Print Fair, Sydney

Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney

‘Selected Works from the University Art Collection’, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

1989

Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education, Brisbane

Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane

1988

Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane

1986

Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane

1985

Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney

1984

‘Ray Hughes Gallery at Reconnaissance’, Reconnaissance Gallery, Melbourne

1982

Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane

1981

‘Farm Images’, New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW

1980

Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane

1978

Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane

1977

Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane

1975

Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education, Brisbane

1974

Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne

1971

Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne

1969

Design Arts Centre, Brisbane

1967

Design Arts Centre, Brisbane

AWARDS 2009

Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus Award, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

2007

Officer of the Order (AO), Queen’s Birthday Honours, Australia

2005

Honorary Doctorate, Griffith University, Brisbane

2002

Honorary Doctorate, University of South Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD

1998

Honorary Doctorate, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

1996

Wynne Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

1995

Archibald Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

1991-92 John McCaughey Memorial Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 1990

Wynne Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

1987

Archibald Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

1985

Aberdare Art Prize (Winner), Ipswich City Art Gallery, Ispwich, QLD

1970

David Jones Painting Prize, Australia

1956

Godfrey Rivers Memorial Medal, Central Technical College, Brisbane

COLLECTIONS ANZ Bank, Australia

Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane

Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat, VIC

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, NSW

Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth

New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW

Artbank, Sydney

Parliament House, Canberra

Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

Australian Print Workshop Archive, Melbourne

Queensland University Art Museum, Brisbane

Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, VIC

Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, VIC

Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Redcliffe, QLD

Brisbane Grammar School, Brisbane

Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton, QLD

Burnie Regional Art Gallery, Burnie, TAS

Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, Stanthorpe, QLD

Cairns Regional Art Gallery, Cairns, QLD

State Library of Queensland, Brisbane

Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Sydney

Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba, QLD

First Chicago National Bank, Chicago, USA

Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah, NSW

Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise, QLD

UC Art Collection, University of Canberra, Canberra

Griffith University, Brisbane

University of New South Wales, Sydney

IBM, Australia

University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane

Ipswich City Art Gallery, Ipswich, QLD

University of Tasmania Fine Art Collection, Hobart

JP Morgan Chase, Australia

Vatican Museums, Vatican City

Macquarie Bank, Australia

Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW

Melbourne State College, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne

Waikato Art Museum, Hamilton, New Zealand

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA 77

List of Works No. Title

Year

Medium

Size

1.

Jacaranda with ginger and lilies

2014

oil on linen

112 x 168 cm

2.

Poinciana with allamanda and ferns

2015

oil on linen

112 x 168 cm

3.

Native flowers with lime and fig trees

2014

oil on linen

122 x 97

cm

4.

Native flowers and gumnuts

2014

oil on linen

122 x 97

cm

5.

Verandah with king parrot

2014

oil on linen

122 x 97

cm

6.

Flowers from the garden

2014

oil on linen

122 x 97

cm

7.

Sunflowers and peaches

2014

oil on linen

82 x 66

cm

8.

Self portrait with salmon heads

2014

oil on linen

78 x 53

cm

9.

Still life with stunned mullet

2014

oil on linen

53 x 78

cm

10. Byron bouillabaisse

2014

oil on linen

53 x 78

cm

11. Still life with Moses perch

2014

oil on linen

41 x 56

cm

12. Fruit, vegetables and Dutch jug

2015

oil on linen

41.5 x 54.5 cm

13. Still life with duck eggs and herbs

2014

oil on linen

41 x 51

14. Figure with fruit and bread

2013

oil on linen

41 x 51

cm

15. Ranunculus

2014

oil on linen

36 x 31

cm

16. Cherries

2014

oil on linen

36 x 31

cm

17. Arabian pot with apples

2014

oil on linen

31 x 36

cm

18. Coffee with bread and jam

2014

oil on linen

31 x 36

cm

cm

19. Plums

2014

oil on linen

31 x 36

cm

20. Tea with rock cakes

2014

oil on linen

31 x 36

cm

21. Spring bouquet in Carnival glass jug

2014

pastel on paper

77 x 57

cm

22. Sunflowers, pomegranates and limes

2015

pastel on paper

77 x 57

cm

23. Amaryllis and apples

2015

pastel on paper

57 x 77

cm

24. Coffee and croissants

2015

pastel on paper

57 x 77

cm

25. Bouquet with fruit and yellow cloth

2015

pastel on paper

57 x 77

cm

26. Banksia and eucalypt flowers

2015

pastel on paper

71 x 56

cm

27. Pumpkin scones with fruit

2014

pastel on paper

52 x 69

cm

28. Daffodils, hyacinths and roses

2014

pastel on paper

63 x 48

cm

29. Poppies in Carlton Ware

2014

pastel on paper

63 x 48

cm

30. Ranunculus in Charlotte Rhead vase

2014

pastel on paper

63 x 48

cm

31. Edwardian jug and blue bottle

2014

pastel on paper

63 x 48

cm

32. Still life with Arabian pot

2014

pastel on paper

63 x 48

cm

33. Australian native flowers

2014

pastel on paper

48 x 63

cm

34. Mixed vegetables with copper pot

2015

pastel on paper

46 x 55

cm

35. Native flowers and watering can

2014

pastel on paper

29 x 36

cm

36. Summer flowers in Poole jug

2014

pastel on paper

29 x 36

cm

37. The pink chrysanthemum

2012

oil pastel on paper

29 x 33

cm

38. Native flowers with whisky jug

2012

oil pastel on paper

25 x 17

cm

39. Bouquet with iron pot

2013

gouache on paper

45 x 35

cm

40. Wattle, banksia, fruit and bread

2013

gouache on paper

28 x 38

cm

41. Chookyard with gobbler

2015

gouache on paper

35 x 50

cm

42. Farmyard with crossing paths

2015

gouache on paper

35 x 50

cm

43. Farmyard with clarion call

2015

gouache on paper

25 x 35

cm

44. Farmyard with feeding the chooks

2015

gouache on paper

25 x 35

cm

45. Farmyard with fence sitters

2015

gouache on paper

25 x 35

cm

79

WILLIAM ROBINSON

ISBN 978-0-9805765-8-0

9 780980 576580 >