Australian Painting: 1788-1970
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Very good
Pages: Good
From the first colonial brushstrokes of 1788 to the vibrant avant-garde movements of the late twentieth century, Australian Painting: 1788-1970 presents a sweeping and authoritative chronicle of a nation discovering its artistic identity. Bernard Smith traces the evolution of Australian visual art across nearly two centuries, mapping the tension between European traditions and the raw, unmistakable character of the Australian landscape, its people, and its emerging cultural consciousness. The frontispiece alone — Russell Drysdale's haunting Two Children — signals the emotional and aesthetic depth readers are about to encounter. Smith, one of Australia's most distinguished art historians, argues with clarity and conviction that Australian painting is not a peripheral footnote to Western art history, but a vital and distinctive tradition in its own right. His prose is both scholarly and accessible, weaving together social history, biography, and critical analysis to illuminate how painters such as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Sidney Nolan, and Arthur Boyd shaped a uniquely Australian visual language. This landmark work remains an essential reference for anyone seeking to understand how a continent painted itself into existence.
Author: Bernard Smith
Format: Hardback
Published: 1974, Oxford University Press
Genre: History of arts
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Very good
Pages: Good
From the first colonial brushstrokes of 1788 to the vibrant avant-garde movements of the late twentieth century, Australian Painting: 1788-1970 presents a sweeping and authoritative chronicle of a nation discovering its artistic identity. Bernard Smith traces the evolution of Australian visual art across nearly two centuries, mapping the tension between European traditions and the raw, unmistakable character of the Australian landscape, its people, and its emerging cultural consciousness. The frontispiece alone — Russell Drysdale's haunting Two Children — signals the emotional and aesthetic depth readers are about to encounter. Smith, one of Australia's most distinguished art historians, argues with clarity and conviction that Australian painting is not a peripheral footnote to Western art history, but a vital and distinctive tradition in its own right. His prose is both scholarly and accessible, weaving together social history, biography, and critical analysis to illuminate how painters such as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Sidney Nolan, and Arthur Boyd shaped a uniquely Australian visual language. This landmark work remains an essential reference for anyone seeking to understand how a continent painted itself into existence.