1997 QUT Handbook

ART COLLECTION
Queensland University of Technology houses a
major collection of almost 1400 Australian and
international works of art, comprising paintings,
sculptures, decorative arts and works on paper. These
holdings represent one of the largest public art
collections in Queensland.
Established in 1945, the collection embraces both
historical and contemporary works, spanning a
period of over 140 years. The greatest strengths lie
in the extensive holdings of Queensland art from the
1940s onwards and the outstanding collection of
contemporary Australian art post 1970, chiefly
paintings, prints and ceramics. The small but
significant group of works by Australian artists
(Elioth Gruner, Frank Hinder, Margaret Preston,
Grace Cossington Smith and so on) working
predominantly in the first half of the twentieth
century forms an interesting complement to
contemporary holdings.
A number of important contemporary Australian
artists are represented in the collection by major
examples of their work. They include Ian
Fairweather, Rosalie Gascoigne, Richard Larter,
Keith Looby, John Olsen and Imants Tillers. The
collection also contains substantial holdings by
several eminent individual practitioners such as Alun
Leach-Jones, Carl McConnell, GwynHanssen Pigott
and William Robinson.
The rapidly expanding collection of Australian prints
comprises works by artists who have been actively
involved in the graphic arts over the past two decades
including George Baldessin, Hertha Kluge-Pott, Bea
Maddock, Mike Parr, Sally Robinson and Fred
Williams. These holdings have been recently
consolidated through the acquisition of a large body
of prints by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
artists, as well as by the purchase of works
incorporating new electronic media.
Contemporary Australian ceramics have been
acquired consistently since the early 1970s.
Highlights include major sculptural pieces by Olive
Bishop, Margaret Dodd and Lorraine Jenyns, and
important functional wares by Stephen Benwell,
Greg Daly, Milton Moon, Jenny Orchard and Sandra
Taylor. Recent acquisitions include works by a
younger generation of ceramic artists such as Jo
Crawford, Merran Esson, Debra Halpern, Jerry Wedd
and Jo Williams.
Other recent acquisitions reflect the high priority and
commitment given by QUT to the work of local
emerging practitioners, particularly those who have
graduated from the University’s Academy of the Arts
and begun to establish themselves as professional
artists. The recent purchase of representative works
by Stephen Brash, Don Heron, Stephen Nothling,
Kate Ryan, Rodney Spooner, Ellen Thompson and
Anne Wallace exemplifies the significance and depth
of this commitment.
In addition to its holdings of Australian art, QUT
possesses a small but distinguished group of
twentieth century American and European works by
artists of the calibre of Georges Braque, Alexander
Calder, Mary Cassatt, Henry Moore, Auguste Rodin,
William Scott, Victor Vasarely and Paul Wunderlich,
as well as some outstanding nineteenth century
Japanese woodblock prints.
The collection is displayed in various designated
spaces at QUT’s three Brisbane campuses. Policy
and procedures relating to its development are
determined by the Art Collection Committee,
comprising senior representatives of the University
and external members.
A 124 page illustrated catalogue of the collection is
available for purchase from the University
Bookshop.
The collection is administered by the University
Curator, Stephen Rainbird and Assistant Curator,
Susi Muddiman. For further information telephone
(07) 3864 3240.
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