THE ART - Canberra 100

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EARLY CANBERRA 1913 BY A E MACDONALD—CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY (CMAG) A.E. Macdonald Early Canberra 1913 oil on canvas THE STORY OF THIS ARTWORK AND ITS ACQUISITION This painting is pertinent to the celebration of Canberra’s centenary and it is the result of a competition, a significant way of acquiring art for the public. A notice was issued from the Prime Minister’s Department on Thursday 19 December 1912, and then advertised in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 80, Saturday 21 December 1912. The notice was an invitation from the Historic Memorials Committee to Australian artists to submit paintings of the site where the Federal Capital of the Commonwealth was to be built. The idea was that of G V F Mann, director of the Art Gallery of NSW at the time and also a distinguished architect and painter. Little is known about A E MacDonald. He was living in Sydney, in Wahroonga, at the time of the competition, and when he submitted his painting on 25 June 1913, he used the nom de plume, ‘Molonglo’. Perhaps he wanted to identify strongly with the landscape. The 21 December notice not only asked for ‘Australian artists resident in the various States of the Commonwealth to submit paintings illustrative of the site upon which it is proposed to erect the Federal Capital of the Commonwealth but also stated that the subject will necessitate a painting of a panoramic nature and must be correct in regard to the geological features of the landscape in every respect. Midday effect is desired in preference to evening or scenic effects’. The notion of capturing the view when it is at its most luminous is a reference both to Australia’s unique light and to the symbolic use of that light to point to the bountiful future open to the newly federated country. If we want to ‘see’ what Canberra was like 100 years ago, MacDonald’s painting reveals a great deal. It is an oil painting on canvas showing the site of Canberra looking from the present-day suburb of Ainslie, towards what would one day be the city, with St John’s Church, Canberra’s first church, in the middle ground. There is evidence of the farms that were present at the time. The bright light, undulating hills and the open view were intended to invigorate national pride and build an expectation of a bright, open future. The painting clearly addressed the competition brief. The decade after Federation seemed to introduce a new nationalism, which was reflected in much of the art of the time. The works of the well-known artists Arthur Streeton and Hans Heysen, for example, expressed this nationalism with strong, powerful, almost heroic landscapes. MacDonald’s landscape also reflects these ideals. The Historic Memorials Committee’s choice of landscape as the theme for this important competition reinforces the notion that the Australian landscape was understood as symbolic of Australian identity. Who won? It wasn’t A E MacDonald. The competition attracted ten submissions and the winner was William Lister Lister whose work, and that of the runner-up, Penleigh Boyd, are displayed in Parliament House, Canberra. Their paintings are of the same scene, in a general sense, but each has a slightly different perspective, with different light and colour. 6 THE ART OF BRINGING THE ARTS TO CANBERRA
GOING FURTHER MacDonald’s painting is a wonderful acquisition by the Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG) and a gift to all who come to see and appreciate it. How did it arrive at the gallery? Prior to ACT self government the painting was Commonwealth property and hung in executive offices of the Department of Territories. It was transferred to the ACT Government in 1989 and placed in storage. In 1996 it was removed from storage, conserved and hung in the Hospitality Room of the Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly. On Canberra Cultural Centre (CCC predecessor of CMAG) curatorial recommendation the painting was acquired by the CCC, whose Interim Acquisitions Committee endorsed the transfer at its 20 March 1997 meeting. •• Visit all four paintings, those of William Lister Lister and Penleigh Boyd, as well as MacDonald’s, and a further painting submitted to the same competition, by T Brooke Hansen titled Landscape C, 1913, also to be on display at CMAG, and offering students a fascinating insight into landscape oil painting. •• Gain further insights into the painting: CMAG may be able to provide a talk for students about Early Canberra and its significance. •• Explore some of the extensive evidence of the lives of the traditional owners of the Canberra region—trees that have had large slabs of bark removed, prior to European settlement, possibly to make canoes; axe grinding grooves found on large flat rocks. Examples can be easily found in the Tuggeranong Valley. The National Trust of Australia (ACT) provides a brochure for a self-guided heritage tour of Tuggeranong. For more information visit www.act.nationaltrust.org.au •• Engage in discussion and research —when a viewer looks at Early Canberra, it is important to remember that this painting doesn’t depict the earliest view of the area. Australia’s first people lived here for at least 20,000 years before European settlement. What did the area now called Canberra look like? In the painting there are few trees. Was this always so? What is the history of this landscape? Who were the original owners of the land? How did the Indigenous population manage it? Why are there so few trees? In 1913, what was life like for early Canberrans? How was it different for settlers who’d come from England and Europe? How has modern conservation and caring for this area developed? •• Through careful study of the painting appropriate the ideas in Early Canberra into the students’ own paintings with oils. •• Arrange to visit Mugga-Mugga to experience a cottage and landscape that closely resembles the landscape of 1913, the same year A E MacDonald painted Early Canberra. SECTION 2 7
Page 1 and 2: THE ART OF BRINGING THE ARTS TO CAN
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS SECTION 1 Introduction: th
Page 5 and 6: THE EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE THE CENTE
Page 7: GOING FURTHER ART CHALLENGES OUR PE
Page 11 and 12: Great Hall Tapestry (1984 - 88) Art
Page 13 and 14: Image courtesy of Ben Wrigley GOING
Page 15 and 16: GOING FURTHER •• Research the l
Page 17 and 18: It’s time. MOST SECRET PRIME T IM
Page 19 and 20: of petroglyphs (art etched onto the
Page 21 and 22: THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: ENGLISH
Page 23 and 24: FOUR BEAUTIFUL SEASONS, TWELVE FANT

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