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Art & Curatorship ARHT6914 Assignment 2: Exhibition Proposal

Unit Coordinator: Dr. Louise Marshall

By Antony Skinner St. ID. 198446648

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Proposal (Introduction or What):

‘Sydney Harbour’ is a proposal for a temporary exhibition consisting primarily of

works from the Australian art collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales

(AGNSW). It starts with the work of Conrad Martens and ends with Lloyd Rees.

Bonyhandy notes, that Sydney Harbour was one of Marten’s ‘principal subjects,

depicting its size and beauty as well as civic progress’ and his style changed with time

from topographical details to Romantic influences playing with chiaroscuro,

reflecting the influence of Turner.1 Colonial art had two subjects: views and portraits,

which were typical of any provincial society and ‘art as information was a

distinguishing characteristic of provincial art in NSW.’2 Later in the nineteenth

century Sydney had two attractions for artists: ‘The AGNSW as a patron and secondly

the ‘natural beauty of Sydney Harbour, with its mild climate and brilliant sunshine.’3

Thus it drew the former Heidelberg artists and other Impressionists to its shores.

Radford notes that ‘by WWI Sydney had become the largest and fastest growing city

in Australia. It was seen as more progressive in art – and in everything else: the

massive engineering of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the late 1920s symbolised

the city’s embrace of progress and modernity.’4 So the phases of the Bridge’s

construction and completion were popular subjects during Modernism. The women

Modernists were unconventional: Preston rejected the ‘domination of landscape

naturalism’ in favour of stylised portrayals;5 while Cossington Smith preferred still

lifes, interiors, figurative works, or city and industrial subjects;6 while Wakelin and

others focused on suburban landscapes.7 Pearce observes that for artists like: Condor,

Roberts, Streeton, Preston, Cossington Smith, and others depicting Sydney Harbour in

around the AGNSW provided them with ‘a synergy of place, institutional patronage

and creative moment in the lives of these artists which is unmatched.’8

1 Tim Bonyhandy, The Colonial Image: Australian Painting: 1800-1880, Australian National Gallery, 1987, Sydney, Ellsyd Press, p. 40. 2 Joan Kerr, Views, Visages, Invisibility: Themes in the Art of Colonial NSW’, in Patricia McDonald and Barry Pearce, The Artist and the Patron: Aspects of Colonial Art in New South Wales, AGNSW, Beagle Press, 1988, p. 15. 3 Jane Clark and Bridget Whitelaw, Golden Summers: Heidelberg and Beyond, ICCA, Griffin Press, 1986, p. 150. 4 Ron Radford, Ocean to Outback: Australian Landscape Painting 1850-1950, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2007, p. 36. 5 Deborah Edwards and Denise Mimmocchi, (Eds), Sydney Moderns: Art for a New World, AGNSW, Thames & Hudson, Melbourne, 2013, p. 218. 6 Ron Radford, Ocean to Outback: Australian Landscape Painting 1850-1950, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2007, p. 36. 7 Ron Radford, Ocean to Outback: Australian Landscape Painting 1850-1950, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2007, p. 37. 8 Barry Pearce, 100 Moments in Australian Painting, University of NSW Press, Sydney, 2014, p. 4.

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Exhibition Concept (Rationale or Why):

Obrist posits that ‘Art is all about looking’ and that curators are enablers, opening

visitors’ eyes to the joys of looking at art.9 It is showing and also as Storr states, it is

telling where the exhibition acts as a space where ideas are ‘visually phrased’ and a

mere display of ‘canonical works’ does not inform visitors of the subtexts of the

objects.10 So ‘Sydney Harbour’ tells a pictorial story of its perception in the eyes of

local and non-local artists and the changes they observed as it changed over time.

Therefore it is a group thematic exhibition to display local heritage and history and

changes in art historical traditions and methods with the representation of the

landscape – both natural and manmade over 100 years. McLean considers exhibitions

as the ‘soul of a museum experience’11, and ‘Sydney Harbour’ is an exhibition of the

soul of the city of Sydney as seen through the eyes of some of Australia’s greatest

artists, and as McLean cites Greenblatt that, visitors should feel ‘resonance and

wonder’ when they look at an exhibition.12 As Kerr declares:

Sydney Harbour has remained the most popular single signifier of Australia to

the rest of the world for almost 200 years (although Uluru may now have

supplanted it). In the nineteenth century the harbour was accepted as a

sufficient symbol for NSW, far more than any other single site ever

represented a whole colony. The harbour has always been portrayed in iconic

splendour.13

This tradition continued into the twentieth century also, having being called, ‘the most

beautiful harbour in the world’ at one point of history and perhaps it still is. Thus the

aim of ‘Sydney Harbour’ is hopefully to create resonance and wonder, as an

exhibition on the subject of this type and scale has not been shown before.

9 Hans-Ulrich Obrist, ‘Anne d'Harnoncourt on the role of the curator and advice to young curators [excerpt]’, in, A brief history of curating, [ed. Lionel Bovier], Zurich: JRP / Ringier; Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2008, p.179. 10 Robert Storr, ‘Show and tell’, What makes a great exhibition?, (Ed. Paula Marincola), Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, University of Chicago Press, c2006, pp. 21-23. 11 Kathleen McLean, ‘Museum exhibitions and the dynamics of dialogue’, Reinventing the museum: historical and contemporary perspectives on the paradigm shift, (Ed. Gail Anderson), Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, c2004, pp. 193. 12 Kathleen McLean, ‘Museum exhibitions and the dynamics of dialogue’, Reinventing the museum: historical and contemporary perspectives on the paradigm shift, (Ed. Gail Anderson), Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, c2004, p. 201. 13 Joan Kerr, Views, Visages, Invisibility: Themes in the Art of Colonial NSW’, in Patricia McDonald and Barry Pearce, The Artist and the Patron: Aspects of Colonial Art in New South Wales, AGNSW, Beagle Press, 1988, p. 16.

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Exhibition Display (Layout (‘the hang’) or How):

Kruger suggests for ‘a display to be organised ‘museally’ it should also be displayed

aesthetically, so the how is as important as the what and the why,’ and suggests three

points to consider: ‘everything is subordinate to the object on display; the object is in

the museum also forms part of its setting; for the visitor, the room and its art

constitute a single unified experience.’14 While Gombrich posits that, not only is each

object important but the relationships between all the objects in terms of how they are

displayed with each other.15 Hall provides a useful guide of how to hang an exhibition

with the following considered here for ‘Sydney Harbour’ exhibition:

1. The curatorial order is not strictly historical though it starts with the earliest

paintings, but it also considers conservation and the most appropriate

positioning of works in relation to the spaces and each other;

2. The exhibition is in existing galleries with temporary walls added to separate

the exhibition from other gallery spaces and provide more hanging space;

3. Section breaks in the exhibition is provided in the architecture of the gallery

and by the use of some coloured background walls though this is also for

aesthetic contrast;

4. Spacing is important with larger works given more, while smaller works are

clustered and most works are hung ‘Eyelined’;16

Most of the works have been hung according to their stylistic movement, artist,

historical period or medium as well as the considerations in point 1., above.

Curatorial Issues:

Exhibiting:

Belcher states, an exhibition is a ‘showing for a purpose’, the purpose being to affect

the viewer in some predetermined way.’17 It is a controlled interaction between the

audience and three-dimensional authentic objects.18 It is created like a sculpture as a

14 Hermann Kruger, ‘Planning and layout of museums: The central importance of the room’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 1984, 3(4), p. 354. 15 Ernst Hans Gombrich, ‘From light into paint’, in, Historical and philosophical issues in the conservation of cultural heritage, (Eds. Nicholas Stanley Price, M. Kirby Talley, Jr., Alessandra Melucco Vaccaro). Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute, c1996. p. 124. 16 Margaret Hall, ‘Hanging the Exhibition’, On Display: a design grammar for museum exhibitions, Lund Humphries, London, 1987, pp. 187-189. 17 Michael Belcher, ‘Exhibition as a medium of communication’, Exhibitions in Museums, Edition New ed., Leicester U. P., 1992, p. 37. 18 Ibid.

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three-dimensional object, which considers mass and space, and is a piece of

‘functional design’ but with specific motives to not only create a mood that will elicit

emotional responses from the audience, but to also share and tell a pictorial

narrative.19 As a final consideration to the theoretical basis of an exhibition and issues

with it, Belcher cites, McLuhan, ‘the medium becomes the message.’20

Audience Engagement:

New museology requires that the curator and exhibition development team consider

the audience to provide an exhibition that is not only emotionally engaging but one

that is also intellectually engaging. This can be accomplished by making it interactive

in the following ways:

1. Pictorial and filmic history of the harbour and the artists’ lives and influences

can be viewed in the exhibition space, online, or via mobile apps on iPhone

and iPad, with optional soundtrack provided via iTunes U;

2. Self-guided discussion on the exhibition artworks and artists using an

interactive mobile app on iPhone or iPad;

3. Guided tours of the exhibition;

4. ‘Children’s trail’ booklet and interactive mobile app on iPhone or iPad;

5. Guided Sydney Harbour private boat tour to locations in the exhibition;

6. Public programs – talks, films, Art After Hours events, children’s programs,

Access programs for the disabled, programs for the elderly;

7. Educational programs – where relevant to school curricula and tertiary

students;

8. Printed material: Exhibition catalogue, booklet, Children’s trail.

Lighting:

McGlinchey states, ‘The objective of gallery lighting, whether natural, artificial, or a

mixture, is to provide sufficient colour match in the wavelength from the light source

that the tone of the painting as originally intended by the artist is always apparent.’21

A combination of direct & diffused light is required. If the Lowy Gonski gallery has

too much natural lighting adjustments will need to be made to the light entering to 19 Michael Belcher, ‘Exhibition as a medium of communication’, Exhibitions in Museums, Edition New ed., Leicester U. P., 1992, pp. 40-41. 20 Michael Belcher, ‘Exhibition as a medium of communication’, Exhibitions in Museums, Edition New ed., Leicester U. P., 1992, p. 42. 21 Christopher McGlinchey, ‘Color and light in the museum environment’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, 1993-1994 51(3): p.48.

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keep the lighting at 50 lux, as the works on paper will be exhibited in this gallery

space because the light from the north-facing window will be too bright in this gallery

space which will display the oil paintings. As Cannon-Brookes notes, ‘Daylight

provides the optimum viewing conditions of the artworks but is also the most

damaging and therefore needs to be managed carefully.’22

Conservation:

This is a critical issue for the display of the works, particularly works on paper, which

are more sensitive to light and therefore prone to damage. They can only be displayed

for a maximum of three months at a time at a 50 Lux level. As Barker notes,

‘Sympathetic lighting can be used as a conservation tool.’23 Framing of works on

paper and display are important considerations too. Works on paper need to be framed

securely behind glass while oil paintings need to be in an optimal condition before

display. A majority of these are already on permanent display however, a clean and

check-up before going into the exhibition is to err on the side of caution while

maximising visual effectiveness of the artworks.

Availability:

There are 33 works in the exhibition and 30 of them are from the AGNSW’s own

collection. Two are from the State Library of NSW and one is from a private

collection. Obtaining loans for these works would not be an issue. More works from

the State Library could also be loaned.

Repetition:

There have been seven exhibitions from 2002 that have included particularities of

Sydney harbour as a main theme or others that have touched on it briefly, but none

have focused on an historical narrative and representation of it by some of Australia’s

leading exponents in the landscape genre. Therefore repetition is unlikely to occur

within this current proposal. The previous exhibitions are:

1. ‘Sydney Harbour: Seldom Scene’ in 2007 at the State Library of New South Wales

which exhibited rarely seen works of the harbour in paintings and watercolours. Some

22 S. Cannon-Brookes, ‘Lighting: Daylight in historic buildings/new museums: Some practical considerations’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 1994 13(1): p. 101. 23 Rachel Barker and Patricia Smithen, ‘New Art, New Challenges: The Changing Face of Conservation in the Twenty-First Century’, in New Museum Theory and Practice: An Introduction, (Ed J. Marstine), Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK, 2006, p.100.

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of these could be included in an extension of this proposal to add variety and provide

more inclusiveness with figurative subjects and inner-city suburbs connected with the

harbour.24

2. ‘Dockside: Sydney’s working harbour, 1840-1875’ in 2008 also at the State Library

of NSW, which exhibited paintings and watercolours that depict a romanticised ideal

of harbour working life and photographs which captured snapshots of reality.25 Again

works from the Mitchell Library in particular the Dixon Galleries are a wealth of

supplementary material.

3. ‘Sydney by Ferry’ in 2002 at the Museum of Sydney depicted Sydney by ferry with

photography, paintings, models and ephemera ‘uncovering the heritage of the harbour

and its foreshores.’26

4. ‘Bridging Sydney’ also at the MoS in 2007 celebrated the 75th anniversary of the

opening of the Harbour Bridge. It combined photographs, paintings, plans and

sketches.27

5. ‘Sydney Views: 1788-1888’ at the MoS from 2007-08 was a major exhibition

which ‘documented the growth of Sydney from the tentative early views of the 1790s

colonial settlement to the large, confident centenary panoramas celebrating the city as

a metropolis.’28

6. ‘19th Century Australian watercolours, drawings and pastels’ in 2005 at the

AGNSW included works by Roberts, Streeton, Martens, Buvelot and von Guerard.

Details are not given but it is possible that paintings by Martens portrayed Sydney

Harbour.29

24 ‘Sydney Harbour: Seldom Scene’, Past Exhibitions, State Library of New South Wales, http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2007/seldomscene/index.html, Last updated: Friday, 16 November 2007, (Viewed 8.11.2014). 25 ‘Dockside: Sydney’s working harbour, 1840-1875’, Past Exhibitions, State Library of New South Wales, http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2008/dockside/index.html, Last updated: Monday, 5 May 2008, (Viewed 8.11.2014). 26 ‘Sydney by Ferry’, Exhibitions, Museum of Sydney, < http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/exhibitions/sydney-ferry>, (Viewed 8.11.2014). 27 ‘Bridging Sydney’, Exhibitions, Museum of Sydney, < http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/exhibitions/sydney-views-1788-1888>, (Viewed 8.11.14). 28 ‘Sydney Views: 1788-1888’, Exhibitions, Museum of Sydney, < http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/exhibitions/sydney-views-1788-1888>, (Viewed 8.11.2014). 29 ‘19th Century Australian watercolours, drawings and pastels’, Archives, Exhibitions, AGNSW, < http://archive.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/archived/2003/19c_aust_wdp/index.html>, (Viewed 8.11.2014).

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7. ‘Sydney moderns: art for a new world’ in 2013 also at the AGNSW, was a major

exhibition of over 180 works by iconic Australian artists exploring the making of a

modern city and its life. Some included modernist works of Sydney Harbour.30

Design Elements:

Belcher states that the basic elements of design such as colour, form, shape, line,

texture and light are required for an interactive experience as well as time which

allows the audience to absorb all these elements at their own pace.31 So an exhibition

needs to be attractive to encourage visitors on different levels from the objects in it, to

the design and layout of the exhibition, to the text and object labels, to lighting, and to

other considerations of visitor comfort and ergonomics like seating, lighting, and air

temperature etc.32 Background walls are an important feature to consider for the

overall look of the exhibition. The white walls of the Lowy Gonski Gallery will be

kept and also in the adjoining exhibition space. The temporary wall which visitors

first approach the exhibit will be in a royal blue as will the walls behind an parallel

which frame the north-facing window onto the harbour. Labels will have minimal

information: artist and title and a piece of information about the work or artist or an

open-ended question to stimulate visitor curiosity. Hall recommends ‘labels should be

designed to provide information effortlessly’ and suggests labels and typefaces are

large enough to be read at distance and if visitors have to go back and forth to

between artworks and labels the labels are a design failure – something that occurs

too often in AGNSW exhibitions.33

Audience Comfort:

Setting the air temperature at a comfortable level provides audience comfort, but the

air and humidity has to be set for the artworks conservation. Object labels and text

panels that are in a font and size that is legible from a distance for most visitors

provide ease of reading. Leather armchairs and a table provide an informal and

comfortable setting to admire the view and the artworks in the northwest gallery

room. A large leather rectangle ottoman in the Lowy Gonski Gallery provides seating 30 ‘Sydney moderns: art for a new world’, Past Exhibitions, AGNSW, < http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/sydney-moderns/>, (Viewed 8.11.2014) 31 Michael Belcher, ‘Exhibition as a medium of communication’, Exhibitions in Museums, Edition New ed., Leicester U. P., 1992, pp. 38-39. 32 Michael Belcher, ‘Exhibition as a medium of communication’, Exhibitions in Museums, Edition New ed., Leicester U. P., 1992, p. 40. 33 Margaret Hall, ‘Hanging the Exhibition’, On Display: a design grammar for museum exhibitions, Lund Humphries, London, 1987, pp. 189.

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to watch an LCD monitor showing a pictorial and filmic history of Sydney Harbour

and another about the artists’ lives and influences.

Exhibition Works (not to scale):

Works are shown here in chronological order, however in the exhibition the curatorial

order will be different.

1. Conrad Martens England, Australia 1801 – 21 Aug 1878) Title: View of Sydney Harbour Year: 1835 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: watercolour, Dimensions: 46 x 65 cm sight State Library of NSW, Dixon Galleries 2. Conrad Martens Title: Elizabeth Bay Year: 1838 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: watercolour Dimensions: 44.4 x 62.9

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3. Conrad Martens Title: View of the Heads, Port Jackson Year: 1853 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: watercolour, gouache, gum, scraping out on paper Dimensions: 54.2 x 76.2 cm sheet; 71.5 x 93.2 x 7.0 cm frame

4. Conrad Martens Title: Funeral Procession for Admiral King Year: 1856 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: watercolour, gouache, gum, on paper Dimensions: 46 x 65.8 cm Private collection

5. Unknown Title: Picnic at Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair Year: c. 1856 Media category: Painting Materials used: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 63.9 x 91.8cm State Library of NSW, Dixon Galleries (DG 265)

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6. Conrad Martens Title: Middle Harbour Year: 1876 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: watercolour on paper Dimensions: 42.5 x 64.5

7. Eugene von Guérard (England, Australia, Germany, Austria 17 Nov 1811 – 17 Apr 1901) Title: Sydney Heads Year: 1865 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 56.0 x 94.0 cm stretcher; 54.5 x 92.7 cm sight; 81.7 x 120.0 x 9.0 cm frame 8. C.H. Hunt (England, Australia 1857 – 1938) Title: Sydney from the North Shore Year: 1888 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 92.0 x 168.8 cm

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9. Charles Condor (England, Australia 24 Oct 1868 – 09 Feb 1909) Title: Sunset, Sydney Harbour Year: (circa 1888) Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on cardboard Dimensions: 20.0 x 12.0 cm board; 48.0 x 31.5 x 4.3 cm frame, 19.9 x 12.2 cm sight edge:

10. Charles Condor Title: Departure of the Orient - Circular Quay Year: 1888 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 45.1 x 50.1 cm stretcher; 67.0 x 72.0 x 7.8 cm frame

11. Arthur Streeton (Australia, England, Australia 08 Apr 1867 – 01 Sep 1943) Title: From my camp (Sirius Cove) Year: 1896 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on plywood Dimensions: 28.0 x 21.5 cm board; 47.0 x 39.4 x 3.5 cm frame

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12. Arthur Streeton Title: Cremorne pastoral Year: 1895 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 91.5 x 137.2 cm stretcher; 89.5 x 135.0 cm sight edge; 143.5 x 189.0 x 8.0

13. Arthur Streeton Title: Sydney Harbour from Penshurst (Cremorne) Year: 1907 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on wood Dimensions: 17.7 x 66.0 cm board; 38.0 x 87.0 x 4.4 cm frame

14. Tom Roberts (England, Australia 08 Mar 1856 – 14 Sep 1931) Title: An autumn morning, Milson's Point, Sydney Year: 1888 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 45.7 x 76.2 cm stretcher; 65.3 x 96.0 x 5.0 cm frame

15. Tom Roberts Title: (Sydney Harbour from Milson's Point) Year: 1897 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on wood Dimensions: 18.3 x 33.0 cm board; 30.6 x 45.3 x 2.8 cm frame

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16. Tom Roberts Title: (Circular Quay) Year: 1899 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on wood Dimensions: 10.7 x 21.6 cm board; 10.3 x 19.5 cm sight edge; 28.5 x 37.5 x 3.0 cm frame

17. Tom Roberts Title: The camp, Sirius Cove Year: 1899 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas on paperboard Dimensions: 25.4 x 34.6 cm board; 24.7 x 33.2 cm sight edge; 44.5 x 53.0 x 5.3 cm frame

18. Roland Wakelin (Australia 1887 – 1971) Title: Down the hills to Berry's Bay Year: 1916 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas on hardboard Dimensions: 68.0 x 122.0 cm board; 64.0 x 118.6 cm sight; 81.4 x 136.0 x 5.3 cm frame

19. Roland Wakelin Title: Berry's Bay Year: 1919 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on paperboard Dimensions: 18.5 x 24.7 cm board; 29.4 x 35.6 x 1.9 cm frame

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20. Margaret Preston (Australia, England, France 29 Apr 1875 – 28 May 1963) Title: Sydney Heads (2) Year: 1925 Media category: Print Materials used: woodcut, printed in black ink, hand coloured with gouache on thin ivory laid tissue Edition: 14th proof from an edition of 50, hand coloured Dimensions: 25.1 x 18.6 cm blockmark; 34.4 x 24.3 cm sheet (irreg.)

21. Margaret Preston Title: Circular Quay Year: (1925) Media category: Print Materials used: woodcut, printed in black ink, hand-coloured with gouache on thin ivory mulberry paper Edition: 19th proof from an edition of 50, hand coloured Dimensions: 24.7 x 24.4 cm blockmark; 34.8 x 29.5 cm sheet 22. Margaret Preston Title: Sydney Bridge Year: (circa 1932) Media category: Print Materials used: woodcut, printed in black ink, hand coloured with gouache on cream Japanese laid paper Edition: Edition unknown, hand coloured Dimensions: 19.0 x 23.2 cm blockmark; 22.7 x 31.9 cm sheet (irreg.)

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23. Grace Cossington Smith (Australia 1892 – 20 Dec 1984) Title: The curve of the bridge Year: 1928-1929 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on cardboard Dimensions: 110.5 x 82.5 cm board; 99.0 x 126.5 x 8 cm frame

24. Jessie Traill (Australia 29 Jul 1881 – 15 May 1967) Title: Building the Harbour Bridge IV: the ants' progress, November 1929 Year: 1929 Media category: Print Materials used: etching with foul biting, printed in brown ink on cream wove paper Edition: 2/25 Dimensions: 39.8 x 25.2 cm platemark; 49.0 x 33.6 cm sheet

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25. Jessie Traill Title: The great arch Year: (circa 1932) Media category: Print Materials used: etching and aquatint, printed in brown ink on buff wove paper Edition: 4/30 Dimensions: 27.8 x 24.9 cm platemark; 44.6 x 37.3 cm sheet

26. Jessie Traill Title: The red light, Harbour Bridge, June 1931 Year: 1932 Media category: Print Materials used: etching and aquatint, printed in brown ink with hand colouring on ivory wove paper Edition: 6/30 Dimensions: 32.8 x 24.7 cm platemark; 45.3 x 33.8 cm sheet

27. John D. Moore (Australia 06 Sep 1888 – 09 Dec 1958) Title: Sydney Harbour Year: 1936 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 91.5 x 122.5 cm stretcher; 119.5 x 150.5 x 6.5 cm frame

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28. Sydney Ure Smith (Australia 09 Jan 1887 – 11 Oct 1949) Title: The Bridge Year: 1932 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: pencil, watercolour on ivory wove paper Dimensions: 24.7 x 29.9 cm image (irreg.); 26.4 x 31.8 cm sheet

29. Sydney Ure Smith Title: The harbour from Potts Point Year: 1936 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: pencil, watercolour, pastel on buff wove paper Dimensions: 44.7 x 60.7 cm image (irreg.); 46.7 x 62.5 cm sheet (irreg.) 30. Sydney Ure Smith Title: Woollahra Point Year: 1941 Media category: Watercolour Materials used: pencil, pen and black ink, watercolour on paper Dimensions: 42.0 x 44.5 cm image; 45.1 x 47.6 cm sheet

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31. Lloyd Rees (Australia 17 Mar 1895 – 02 Dec 1988) Title: The blue bay Year: (1938-1945) Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 49.5 x 60.5 cm stretcher; 64.0 x 75.4 x 6.5 cm frame

32. Lloyd Rees Title: The Harbour from McMahon's Point Year: 1950 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on canvas Dimensions: 77.2 x 99.7 cm stretcher; 103.9 x 125.9 x 8.0 cm frame

33. Roland Wakelin Title: The bridge Year: 1958 Media category: Painting Materials used: oil on hardboard Dimensions: 71.1 x 91.5 cm board; 82.6 x 103.0 x 3.7 cm frame

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Floor Plan:

Exhibitions spaces to be used for “Sydney Harbour” include:

1. The Lowy Gonski Gallery for works on paper - etchings, woodcuts,

watercolours. Artists: Preston, Traill, Ure Smith. Also text panels and LCD

monitors for pictorial and filmic histories of Sydney Harbour and the artists’

lives and influences;

2. The exhibition space immediately adjoining it with twentieth century

Australian art with a large north-facing window to Sydney Harbour – oil

paintings from different periods. Artists: Hunt, von Guerard, Condor, Streeton,

Roberts, Wakelin, Cossington Smith, Moore, Lees;

3. A temporary wall partially enclosing the exhibition space nearest to the

Gallery Shop for watercolours and lead in to the exhibition. Artists: Martens

and Unknown.

Exhibition space in relationship to the Ground Floor Plan of the AGNSW

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Plan for the layout and positioning of artworks, text panels and LCD monitors.

Mock-up:

A tentative mock-up (not to scale) of the entrance to the temporary exhibition and the

main wall displays in the northwest corner of the Australian 20th century gallery

excluding the Lowy Gonski Gallery to display etchings and woodcuts.

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The entrance to the exhibition after turning left from the main entrance to the

AGNSW and passing the bookshop on the left. Text labels complement the wall

colour, either off-white or mid-royal blue with black text.

The left wall of the main room of the exhibit and entrance to the Lowy Gonski

Gallery to the text panels, etchings and woodcuts and pictorial and filmic history of

the harbour.

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The north wall with view to the harbour: a relaxed and comfortable area for visitors to

look at the harbour and the paintings of the harbour.

The east wall depicting views from the north and to the east and south.

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The south wall hanging artworks depicting harbour foreshores.

Conclusion:

It is possible to extend the proposed breadth and scope of ‘Sydney Harbour’ by including depictions of it from the first three decades of colonial settlement, with the works of artists, such as Augustus Earle, Joseph Lycett and John Skinner-Prout. These would come primarily from the State Library of NSW and the Dixon Galleries. At the other end of the historical and stylistic spectrum later works by Lloyd Rees, Brett Whiteley, and John Olsen could also be added. However, the current proposal draws on a broad period of Sydney’s history from European settlement, and breadth of stylistic movements, and techniques. It is hoped that the exhibition and current works selected with their accompanying interpretative and interactive materials and programs will be sufficient to inspire visitors with resonance and wonder that they will want to explore Sydney Harbour as the artists whose works depicted here did so before them.

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Bibliography

Articles/Books: Belcher, M., ‘Exhibition as a medium of communication’, Exhibitions in Museums, Edition New ed., Leicester U. P., 1992, pp. 37-43. Bonyhandy, T., The Colonial Image: Australian Painting: 1800-1880, Australian National Gallery, 1987, Sydney, Ellsyd Press. Cannon-Brookes, S., ‘Lighting: Daylight in historic buildings/new museums: Some practical considerations’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 1994 13(1): pp. 100-104. Clark, J., and Whitelaw, B., Golden Summers: Heidelberg and Beyond, ICCA, Griffin Press, 1986. Edwards, D., and Mimmocchi, D., (Eds), Sydney Moderns: Art for a New World, AGNSW, Thames & Hudson, Melbourne, 2013. Gombrich, E. H., ‘From light into paint’, in, Historical and philosophical issues in the conservation of cultural heritage, (Eds. Nicholas Stanley Price, M. Kirby Talley, Jr., Alessandra Melucco Vaccaro). Los Angeles : Getty Conservation Institute, c1996. pp. 110-128. Hall, M., ‘Hanging the Exhibition’, On Display: a design grammar for museum exhibitions, Lund Humphries, London, 1987, pp. 187-189. Kerr, J., Views, Visages, Invisibility: Themes in the Art of Colonial NSW’, in McDonald, P. and Pearce, B., The Artist and the Patron: Aspects of Colonial Art in New South Wales, AGNSW, Beagle Press, 1988. Kruger, H., ‘Planning and layout of museums: The central importance of the room’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 1984, 3(4): pp. 351-356. McGlinchey, C., ‘Color and light in the museum environment’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, 1993-1994 51(3): pp.44-52. McLean, K., ‘Museum exhibitions and the dynamics of dialogue’, Reinventing the museum: historical and contemporary perspectives on the paradigm shift, (Ed. Gail Anderson), Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, c2004, pp. 193-211. Obrist, H.-U., ‘Anne d'Harnoncourt on the role of the curator and advice to young curators [excerpt]’, in, A brief history of curating, [ed. Lionel Bovier], Zurich : JRP / Ringier ; Dijon : Les Presses du réel, 2008, pp.179-181. Pearce, B., 100 Moments in Australian Painting, University of NSW Press, Sydney, 2014. Radford, R., Ocean to Outback: Australian Landscape Painting 1850-1950, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2007.

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Splatt, W., and Bruce, S., 100 Masterpieces of Australian Landscape Painting, 1986, Lloyd O’Neil, South Yarra. Storr, R., ‘Show and tell’, What makes a great exhibition?, (Ed. Paula Marincola), Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, University of Chicago Press, c2006, pp. 14-31. Websites: ‘Sydney Harbour: Seldom Scene’, Past Exhibitions, State Library of New South Wales, http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2007/seldomscene/index.html, Last updated: Friday, 16 November 2007, (Viewed 8.11.2014). ‘Dockside: Sydney’s working harbour, 1840-1875’, Past Exhibitions, State Library of New South Wales, http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2008/dockside/index.html, Last updated: Monday, 5 May 2008, (Viewed 8.11.2014). ‘Sydney by Ferry’, Exhibitions, Museum of Sydney, < http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/exhibitions/sydney-ferry>, (Viewed 8.11.2014). ‘Sydney Views: 1788-1888, Exhibitions, Museum of Sydney, < http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/exhibitions/sydney-views-1788-1888>, (Viewed 8.11.2014). ‘Bridging Sydney’, Exhibitions, Museum of Sydney, < http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/exhibitions/sydney-views-1788-1888>, (Viewed 8.11.14). ‘19th Century Australian watercolours, drawings and pastels’, Archives, Exhibitions, AGNSW, < http://archive.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/archived/2003/19c_aust_wdp/index.html>, (Viewed 8.11.2014). ‘Sydney moderns: art for a new world’, Past Exhibitions, AGNSW, < http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/sydney-moderns/>, (Viewed 8.11.2014)

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88/100

CommentsFeedback 3/12/14 1:37 PM

A very pleasing exhibition project. You present a very well thought out and well argued case for the exhibition--it was very impressive that you had researched earlier exhibitions on similar themes, which allowed you to argue the distinctive nature of your exhibition. I was also really pleased to see your careful research into your subject in relevant art historical literature; this allowed you to make a very plausible and persuasive case for your proposal. Discussion of the display also showed great engagement with issues raised during this course and very systematic and thoughtful use of relevant readings, particularly on questions of exhibition narrative and curatorial decisions. I also really appreciated the trouble you took with your mock ups, which give a great sense of what the exhibition would look like. The decision to play off the painted landscapes and the view of Sydney through the window was also very compelling--indeed I often wonder why the gallery does not do this more. Though the intense light levels are also an important consideration, as you note. I felt you could have spelled out for us in more detail some of the justification of your hanging choices--you note that the display is not strictly chronological, but in that case it would have been good to include at least a short discussion of the key themes/ideas at work, and a detailed discussion of one wall or section. Going by your mock ups, at least, some of the hanging decisions seemed a bit strange, eg south wall, with harbour foreshores (a thematic it would have been good to further explain/justify), why are paintings at left hung with kind of left edge alignment? looks strange, one would have expected centralisation eg of smaller above larger paintings. Also the wall does look a bit cramped, particularly on left corner, at least as presented here, though I know its hard when not working to exact scale.

Lastly, great though it was to see you making such diligent use of art historical literature, the essay was rather overburdened by direct quotes. As a rule, you should only ever include a few--not one every sentence or so. Too many direct quotes can give the impression that you are using the words of others to do your arguing or interpretation for you. Better is to present these points in your own words, with appropriate reference in footnotes and in the text, as needed. This way you can weave these points into a strong articulation of your own argument, your opinions and exposition--otherwise it comes to read too much as a patchwork.

Nevertheless, this essay was very notable for the quality of its research and its thoughtful deployment of scholarship to help think through issues. Congratulations!

Would you be willing for me to use this essay as an example for future students? LM