Page 77 - Annual Review 2010

ReVeAL 77
thomas woolner
Alfred Lord Tennyson 1856
royal academy-trained thomas
woolner was the only sculptor
member of the pre-raphaelite
brotherhood. he arrived in melbourne
in 1852 and was compelled to try his
fortune on the rural Victorian gold
fields, but soon returned to melbourne
disappointed. he began to model
medallions of leading citizens of the
colony, digging local clay, grinding
his own gypsum and making his
own tools.
above: thomas woolner | england/australia | 1825–1892 | Portrait
medallion of William Charles Wentworth c.1854 | copper, black
paint | 19.7cm (diam.) | purchased 2010. queensland art gallery
foundation | collection: queensland art gallery
right: Janet dawson | australia b.1935 | Coffee table 1968 |
‘Laminex’ plastic sheet on composition board; metal legs | 122cm
(diam.) | gift of James mollison, ao, through the queensland
art gallery foundation 2010. donated through the australian
government’s cultural gifts program | collection: queensland art
gallery | © Janet dawson 1964. Licensed by Viscopy, sydney, 2011
woolner returned to London in 1854,
and although he never returned to
australia, he continued a line of
lucrative portrait medallions that
were of the highest standard in
execution, accuracy and research.
in 1856, he created a series of profile
portraits of eminent literary figures
of the time including alfred, Lord
tennyson, thomas carlyle and poet
robert browning. seriously interested
in literature, and an amateur poet
in his own right, woolner had work
published in the pre-raphaelite
magazine the Germ.
Janet dawson
Coffee table c.1964
in late 1960, Janet dawson returned
to australia from europe, buoyed
by contemporary developments
in abstraction. she worked with
sydney’s gallery a and became part
of a vibrant milieu that developed
the innovative exhibition and project
space into a significant force,
alert to the latest developments
in contemporary art, design and
exhibition installation.
dawson also worked on her practice,
developing a distinctive approach to
problems of abstraction. exploring
colour, shape and spatial relationships
on canvas, she often worked in acrylic
paint and on shaped composition
boards. dawson’s ‘Living art’ inlaid-
Laminex tabletop series was first
developed in 1964 at Laminex’s
invitation, and executed by steven
davis in melbourne. ‘Living art’
demonstrated dawson’s energy and
innovative thinking through the
reductive methodology of abstraction
at the time, and also the remarkable
crossing of disciplinary boundaries
supported by gallery a.
this work was a gift of James
mollison, ao, through the queensland
art gallery foundation.