Today in 2024, the Australian Republic movement is alive and well, and even though our coins still show the Monarch, you would have to visit a state institution such as Parliament House to see a full portrait of the King. However, this was not always the case. Australian loyalty to the British Monarchy was traditionally […]
Joe Frost (1974-) painted this work for the exhibition View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft), shown at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) in 2006. Alongside eleven other commissioned artists, Frost painted a view of Maitland on a canvas the same size as that used by the […]
A stopped clock may be right twice a day, but can the same be said for the tabloid media? This altered cuckoo clock was exhibited alongside many other ticking timepieces as part of Fiona Hall’s installation Wrong Way Time for the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. The Venice Biennale is an international display of contemporary […]
Fire and flood, the diametric poles of natural disaster, are recurring features of the Australian landscape. In this panoramic print, Tim Maguire suggests their all-encompassing and immersive effects, in which the world we know is consumed by elemental forces. The work was created for Maitland, a city which has been defined by dramatic floods […]
The bright, happy colours of the fanned paper sculptures in Li Hongbo’s work Gun No. 1 (2016) would not be out of place at a seven-year-old’s birthday party. But appearances are deceiving. The underlying structures of these ephemeral decorations are solid paper cutouts in the shape of bullets, hand-held pistols, and shoulder-mounted semi-automatic weapons. The rainbow […]
In her six-minute video animation, I give you a mountain (2018), the artist Joan Ross takes us on a ride through the Enlightenment. A journey back in time to the origins of the modern museum, we slowly progress through mossy grottoes and caves filled with exotic objects and creatures. Along the way, we are introduced […]
In William Kentridge’s Breathe (2008) a dancing figure, drawn in black India ink, pirouettes across the pages of an old book. Using the nineteenth century technology of flip book animation, Kentridge (1955-) makes the image come alive with each turn of a page, creating a 34-second animation that makes us think about the differences between […]
Exposed organs, popping eyeballs, and the lumpy, snaking texture of a brain might not be a sight you’d like to start the day with. However, for those in the medical profession, understanding what goes on under the skin is often essential to providing proper health care. Historically, doctors often used cadavers to provide insights into […]
Once a ‘sleepy hollow’, Glen Innes in northern NSW became a ‘scene of unparalleled excitement’ when tin was discovered in the district in the 1870s. There was a huge influx of miners and ‘hotels were thronged with eager and excited visitors from all parts of the world.’ ‘Shops of all descriptions sprang into existence.’ As […]
Handmade of high-quality fabrics and in the typical style of the period, this pleated grey bonnet was one of Martha Ann Cotterell’s (née Tarrant) (1825-1891) most prized possessions. Martha grew up in the middle of London, where she met Thomas Cotterell (1825-1903). On their wedding day in 1848, Martha was dressed to the latest fashion, […]
Museums & Galleries of NSW acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands that comprise the state now known as NSW.
We pay respect to them as First Nations people with a continuing connection to land, place, waters and community
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site contains stories, images, voices, and video of people who have died.
Some material may contain terms that reflect common usage of the period in which it was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. Such terms do not reflect the views of Museums and Galleries of NSW and are provided only to reflect historical context.