Colonial Painters 1788–1880
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.
Edition: 3rd pr.,
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark work in Australian art history, Colonial Painters 1788–1880 chronicles the development of visual art in Australia from the earliest days of European settlement through the latter half of the nineteenth century. James Gleeson presents a richly detailed survey of the painters who documented a vast and unfamiliar continent, capturing its unique landscapes, its Indigenous peoples, and the rapidly changing colonial society with varying degrees of wonder, ambition, and artistic skill. With authoritative and discerning prose, Gleeson illuminates the cultural and historical forces that shaped these artists' visions, tracing the transition from the topographical records of convict-era draughtsmen to the more confident and expressive works of later colonial masters. The text argues that these painters were not mere documentarians but active interpreters of a new world, their canvases forming an essential visual archive of a nation in the making. This scholarly yet accessible work remains an indispensable reference for anyone seeking to understand the foundations of Australian artistic identity.
Author: James Gleeson
Format: Hardback
Published: 1979, Lansdowne Australian Art Library
Genre: History of arts
Edition: 3rd pr.,
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark work in Australian art history, Colonial Painters 1788–1880 chronicles the development of visual art in Australia from the earliest days of European settlement through the latter half of the nineteenth century. James Gleeson presents a richly detailed survey of the painters who documented a vast and unfamiliar continent, capturing its unique landscapes, its Indigenous peoples, and the rapidly changing colonial society with varying degrees of wonder, ambition, and artistic skill. With authoritative and discerning prose, Gleeson illuminates the cultural and historical forces that shaped these artists' visions, tracing the transition from the topographical records of convict-era draughtsmen to the more confident and expressive works of later colonial masters. The text argues that these painters were not mere documentarians but active interpreters of a new world, their canvases forming an essential visual archive of a nation in the making. This scholarly yet accessible work remains an indispensable reference for anyone seeking to understand the foundations of Australian artistic identity.