MEDIA RELEASE – 18 May 2010
Hans Heysen, an exhibition celebrating one of the most pivotal Australian landscape artists of the early 20th century, opened last Friday at the National Gallery of Australia. This travelling exhibition from the Art Gallery of South Australia is the first major exhibition of Heysen’s work in over three decades, and the first to be shown in Canberra.
“Hans Heysen’s landscapes were groundbreaking in their time, and helped form the way we view the Australian landscape. Heysen made the monumental Australian gum tree the hero of his nationalistic Federation-period pictures. He later travelled many times to the rocky region of the central Flinders Ranges and from the mid 1920’s added a new dry and sculptured landscape, in reds and amber, to Australian painting,” said Ron Radford AM, Director of the National Gallery of Australia.
Included in the exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia are additional Heysen works, which will only be shown in Canberra. The exhibition comprises over 80 works, including many of Heysen’s greatest oil and watercolour paintings alongside rarely seen preliminary sketches and studies.
Testament to Heysen’s national standing, the exhibition has borrowed works from every major collection in the country as well as from many regional and private collections. The exhibition will be complemented by a full program of talks, tours and special events at the National Gallery of Australia.
A range of Hans Heysen accommodation and ticket packages to suit all budgets are available now via www.visitcanberra.com.au. For assistance with choosing and booking accommodation packages contact the Canberra and Region Visitors Centre on 1300 554 114.