Robin Gurr Gift of Non-Indigenous Artworks

In 2010 art enthusiast Robin Gurr generously gifted twenty one artworks to the PRG&TLB Collection, including six artworks by non-Indigenous Australian artists whose practices are interrelated with those of Gerald and Margo Lewers. The gift consists of two etchings by Charles Blackman, a screen print by Rosalie Gascoigne, a suite of woodblock prints by Barbara Hanrahan, a screen print political poster by Redback Press and a lithograph by Lloyd Rees. These works make a valuable addition to the Gallery’s Collection, in particular to the collection of works on paper.

The aesthetic and philosophical similarities and differences revealed in these works build upon the practices, histories and interests of both Gerald and Margo Lewers and their contemporaries. Consequently, these works enhance the Gallery’s focus on developing a Collection that aids the critique of cultural debates associated with the modernist commitments of Gerald and Margo Lewers.

Exhibiting with the Royal Arts Society and N.S.W. Society of Artists, Rees developed as an important artist in the Sydney scene, becoming an influential predecessor for many of the artists in the PRG&TLB Collection. A particular synergy can be drawn between Rees’ love of nature and natural form and Gerald Lewers’ artistic philosophy, including his preference for using, and being inspired by, organic elements and materials.

As a major figure in post-war Australian art, Blackman is an exemplary example of a contemporary, yet alternative, approach to notions of representation, and therefore, provides a contrast to much of the PRG&TLB Collection. On the other hand, Gascoigne’s work expands upon the Gallery’s collection of abstraction. Like Margo Lewers, Rosalie Gascoigne was an artist who needed to operate within the often restrictive gendered stereotypes of 1950s Australia; adopting ways of combining art and domestic responsibilities. Consequently, the inclusion of a modern abstract work by an important female artist provides diversity to a predominately male dominated arena.

The inclusion of the Barbara Hanrahan suite of prints provides a dynamic addition to the Gallery’s collection of works on paper whereas the inclusion of a socio-political poster by Redback Press endorses the seriousness of the Gallery’s commitment to expand upon the interest that the Lewers showed in Indigenous art and culture.

Importantly, the inclusion of these works in the Collection directly feeds into the commitment of Gerald and Margo Lewers to develop ‘unique thought, artistic practice, debate and visual arts education’ while also furthering the Gallery’s potential to develop and promote a broader engagement and critique of Australian modernism.