This exhibition presents a miscellaneous selection of prints by Australian printmakers of the 20th century. Most of the artists whose work is exhibited here were working in the period between the Wars. The main subject matter of these works is landscape - urban or rural town views were particuclarly popular with the professional and amateur etchers who flourished during this period.
The artists themselves have varying reputations. Some, like Streeton and the Lindsays, are so well-known as to need no introduction. At the other end of the scale, those such as Harold Byrne and E. Warner, though artists of considerable talent, are all but anonymous. Their fortunes were mixed. Some went into publishing (Ure Smith); others into administration (Long) and teaching (Protector and Webb). Others made names for themselves overseas - Will Dyson, whose reputation as a satirist was universally renowned, is today almost forgotten in his own country.
Subject-matter is indicative of the artists' interests. The figure of Lionel Lindsay looms large over this era. He was essentially an urban creature and his great interest in townscape is reflected in the work of numerous others, such as Sydney Ure Smith and E. Warner. Sir Arthur Streeton is best known as a landscape painter and it is not surprising to find his graphic works chiefly depicting rural scenes. Landscape is also a major subject in the works of Beatrice Darbyshire, Sydney Long, A.B. Webb and J.C. Goodhart. Fantasy plays a large part in the works of Norman Lindsay, who had the most fertile imagination of any in this group. Helen Ogilvie's output covers a wide range, from birds and farmyard animals to old buildings and illustrative subjects. Thea Proctor concentrates on the human element.
The prints displayed come from the Library's collection and have been acquired from a variety of sources.
