The State Library of New South Wales painting collection, is one of Sydney’s most significant visual records of this State and Australia’s historical and artistic legacy. Examine famous portraits by Thomas Phillips, John Opie, George Lambert and John Peter Russell. Panoramic scenes of late 19th century Sydney harbour by Arthur Streeton, to intriguing 1940s Oxford Street pub interiors by Herbert Bedham, to sublime landscape paintings of the Pitcairn Islands by Frederic William Beechey and vivid oil sketches of Sydney streets by Cecilia Maclellan. Meet at the front steps of the Mitchell Library (State Library of NSW).
- The earliest depictions of Australia: Sydney (Warrane), Newcastle (Muloobinba), Hobart (Nipaluna) and the Norfolk Islands. What do they tell us about both Australia’s First Nations and earlier colonial past? What do they reveal to us about the artists, the techniques employed by them and the various skill levels of those who created these works?
- Portraits from the 18th to 20th centuries: From a portrait of Joseph Banks to Tom Roberts portrait of First Nations woman Maria Little, to the feminist Ada Kidgell, see what portraiture can reveal to us about our history.
- 19th and 20th century Sydney Street scenes and the harbour: Examine vivid depictions of Sydney that record both the vibrant life of a city and of its evolving civic and suburban landscape.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Have an overarching understanding of the role of the arts in the history and depiction of Sydney (Warrane) and Australia more broadly.
- Gain a knowledge of the artistic techniques, aesthetic / conceptual concerns and the historical backgrounds for the artists who created them.
