by Frances
Lindsay
National
Gallery of Victoria. Set of 3 Gift Books. Australian. Hardcover RRP $24.95
Reviewed
by Anastasia Gonis
One
of three editions of gift books published by the National Gallery of Victoria, Dashing Dogs is a collection of
beautiful art featuring dogs in history and their role and relationship to
humans. Frances Lindsay, Deputy Director of the NGV, has written a detailed,
informed narrative on when dogs were domesticated, their many roles, and their
impact on art.
These
wonderful works are from the eighteenth century and beyond and include
Australian Jenny Watson’s Alsation, painted
in 1971, gouache and coloured pencils on paper and cardboard, three of William
Wegman’s works of colour Polaroid photographs, William Dobell’s Boy with a dog, oil on composition
board, Endormies, Rupert Bunny’s
glorious sleeping ladies and dog, oil on canvas; David Moore’s Outback children, South Australia 1963, gelatine
silver photograph, and other
breathtaking works of art with dogs as the theme.
The
works are depicted first in full page colour, then again in smaller size
accompanied by the art and artist’s information. The cover image is of Aspen grove, oil on canvas by James
Morrison.
These
are superbly produced gift books with an identical jacket to the book cover.
They
boast of elegance and good taste and would suit dog lovers, art lovers,
booklovers, and people that admire things of beauty. This set of three gift
books is an exclusive, limited print run.
Curious
Cats in the National Gallery of Victoria
by
Laurie Benson
National
Gallery of Victoria. Set of 3 Gift Books. Australian. Hardcover RRP $24.95
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis
Produced
identically to Dashing Dogs, Curious Cats
begins with the history of cats and their domestication whose original role
was to hunt rats that destroyed the food stocks. Cats inspired great writers,
such as Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Aesop amongst others, and many great visual
artists.
The
narrative by Laurie Benson, Curator of International Art at the NGV, goes into
the feline personality and habits, and expands on how they have been seen
throughout history as demons and gods, and includes their symbolic and
decorative roles. Benson also speaks authoritatively about the depiction of
cats in art.
Amongst
the extraordinary works are: Australian artist David Beal with his Old woman and cat, Sydney 1963, gelatine
silver photograph, David Potts’ Cat show,
again gelatine silver photograph, Gerhard Marcks’ Two cats, woodcut;
Eileen Mayo Girl with cat, and her Cats in trees, both colour linocut, and
Stephen Gooden’s etching of Old Whisk,
amongst others. The cover image is created by Chinese born artist Huang Yongyu
in ink and gouache on paper.
The
presentation is the same in this and the third book with twenty-four full page
colour works, and their repetition in a smaller size accompanied by the art and
artist’s information.
Flourishing
Flowers in the National Gallery of Victoria
by
Kirsty Grant
National
Gallery of Victoria. Set of 3 Gift Books. Australian. Hardcover RRP $24.95
Reviewed
by Anastasia Gonis
The
cover image of the third book (depending on which one you start with) is by Rex
Xun titled Flowers and eccentric rock, ink
and pigments on paper. The introductory essay by Kirsty Grant, Senior Curator
of Australian Art at the NGV is informative and highly poetic as are each of
the introductions in these glorious gift books. It includes a reverse-French
fold cover which becomes wrapping paper.
The
language of flowers has been used through time to express inexpressible
feelings. Flowers have been the most symbolic gifts of nature and the subject choice
of female painters through time. These superlative art works are inspired by botanicals
and flowers. The NGV has an extensive collection of these exquisite works.
The
artists represented here include Australian artists: Margaret Preston with her
woodcut of Native Pear, Ellis Rowan’s
Flower Painting: Pandorea jasminoides and
Clematis aristata, watercolour and gouache, John Brack with Solandra,
oil on composition board, Nora Heysen, A
bunch of flowers, oil on canvas, Margaret Stones (who worked in England) Banksia collina, watercolour over
pencil, and many artists from around the world. These are gifts of beauty created from the magnificent collection
of art at the National gallery of Victoria.
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