Fish have featured in art in Australia for thousands of years. Artists have put fish in the picture to document, decorate, delight and provoke. From the dinner table to the ocean, fish are an intriguing theme, and the works explore the emotional and dramatic, the humorous and eccentric. This unique exhibition spans Australian art history from rock art to the contemporary and reveals how the wonder of fish are an enduring inspiration for artists.
See works by First Fleet artists, William Buelow Gould, Conrad Martens, and modern and contemporary artists Rupert Bunny, Margaret Olley, William Dobell, Arthur Boyd, Yvonne Koolmatrie, John Olsen, John Brack, Michael Leunig, Craig Walsh and many more.
Neon Fish, 2010, Deborah Halpern. Reproduced courtesy of the artist.
Cat and Fish, 1849, William Buelow Gould. Reproduced courtesy Kerry Stokes Collection
The Fish Tank, 1957, John Brack. Reproduced courtesy Kerry Stokes Collection.
Incursion (Water) documentation, 2007, Craig Walsh, Reproduced courtesy of the artist.
Ethel King & Queensland Groper specimen, 1926. Courtesy Australian Museum Archives.
The Beach Fisherman, 1934, Kenneth Macqueen. Courtesy New England Regional Art Museum.
Australian Salmon, 1768-1771, Sydney Parkinson. Courtesy Natural History Museum.
Solvol Fish Book: The Life and Habits of 80 Australian Fishes. circa 1942.
prev
next