Views of Landscape is a new exhibition looking at the traditional genre of landscape painting that is on display at the New England Regional Art Museum
The exhibition explores a number of themes related to landscape painting including a feature wall of rare paintings of local landscapes dating back to the 1930s with depictions of Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Uralla and other New England regional locations .
“In 1921 the artist Elioth Gruner passed through the New England region on his way north, setting up his easel, painting the landscape as he went and reputedly staying with farmers and graziers in return for giving them an artwork to keep,” said curator Robert Heather, Director of the New England Regional Art Museum. “Later in the 1930s he returned to the region and obviously travelled along the Waterfall Way because a series of gorgeous landscapes he painted then are now in the Howard Hinton Collection here at NERAM.”
“The Howard Hinton Collection was originally assembled as a teaching collection for Armidale Teachers College and Hinton wanted to make sure that it included all of the key painting themes of his era,” said Mr Heather. “Looking through this collection of over 1000 artworks we have wonderful examples of portraits, still life, nudes, landscapes and seascapes to choose from for our exhibitions.”
“In this exhibition we explore the way in which artist’s views of the landscape have evolved from the traditional English countryside of nineteenth century painter Samuel Palmer through to the contemporary interventions of Christo around Sydney Harbour in the late 1960s and the work of contemporary urban artists today such as George Gittoes.”
“This exhibition will include works by leading Australian artists including Arthur Streeton, Elioth Gruner, Adrian Feint, Margaret Olley, Lloyd Rees and many others that will enable our visitors to experience a range of high quality landscape painting, prints and drawings right here in Armidale.”
Views of Landscape will be open at New England Regional Art Museum until 27 November 2016.
PICTURED: Elioth Gruner, Winter afternoon, Bellingen, 1937, oil on canvas, Gift of Howard Hinton, 1938
