LUMINOUS: THE LANDSCAPES OF ELISABETH CUMMINGS 7 JANUARY – 12 FEBRUARY 2012 Elisabeth Cummings (b.1934) was raised and educated in Brisbane and holidayed at her family’s retreat at Currumbin on the Gold Coast. Her parents collected art and as a child she and her brother would visit the Queensland Art Gallery, where her father was a trustee, on Friday afternoons to attend Vida Lahey’s art class. In her final year of high school she became determined to study art and, with the encouragement of her teacher, decided to attend the National Art School in Sydney. She moved to Sydney and studied under Douglas Dundas, Wallace Thornton, Dorothy Thornhill, Godfrey Miller and Ralph Balson between 1953-57. In 1958 she was awarded the New South Wales Travelling Art Scholarship which enabled her to travel to Europe where she lived in Italy, France and England. She also travelled to Salzburg and studied under Oskar Kokoschka at his School of Vision. After a decade of living in Europe, Elisabeth Cummings returned to Australia and settled in Sydney. She commenced teaching at the National Art School in 1969, instructing countless students there during her thirty year tenure as a lecturer and exhibiting regularly in Brisbane and Sydney. In 1970 she started camping on a property at Wedderburn on Sydney’s outskirts, owned by Barbara & Nick Romalis that was eventually gifted for the purpose of establishing permanent art studios. Later she built a studio residence and has been primarily based there since, along with other artists including John Peart, Roy Jackson, Joan Brassil, Su Archer and David Fairbairn. In 1994 devastating bushfires destroyed her home, which was subsequently re-built and sits on the edge of a gully surrounded by trees and rocky outcrops. Elisabeth Cummings’ work has not only been inspired by this picturesque environment, but also from her extensive travels throughout Australia from the coast to the desert. She was the subject of a major survey in 1996 by Campbelltown Art Centre (which toured to the Gold Coast City Gallery) and has continued to present exhibitions of important works since that time. This survey exhibition focuses solely on her landscapes however greater examination of her oeuvre accompanied by a major publication is long overdue. LIST OF WORKS Tropical garden 1972 Dark swamp 1992 gouache on paper mounted on cardboard gouache on paper 50 x 70 cm 38 x 50 cm Collection: Gold Coast City Gallery Collection: Manly Art Gallery & Museum The golden swamp 1992 Through the kitchen door c1970s oil on canvas 70.8 x 83.5cm oil on canvas 95 x 60.5cm Private collection Private collection The Melaleuca swamp 1992 Minerva waterhole 1977 oil on canvas 173.5 x 196 cm oil on canvas 108 x 154.8cm Gold Coast City Gallery Private Collection Shimmering light on the swamp 1992 Tropical garden 1977 gouache on paper 56 x 77 cm oil on canvas 110 x 153 cm Gold Coast City Gallery Private collection Wedderburn spring 1993 Light on the gorge 1977 oil on canvas 173 x 196 cm oil on canvas 76 x 91cm Collection: Campbelltown Arts Centre Private collection After the fires, Wedderburn 1994 Afternoon light in the gorge 1978 oil on canvas 180 x 180 cm acrylic & oil on canvas 152.5 x 185 cm Private collection, courtesy King Street Collection: Gold Coast Art Gallery Gallery on William The big tree 1982 Crossing open ground 1994 charcoal & oil on paper 81.5 x 95 cm oil on canvas 183.8 x 168.5cm Collection of the artist Private Collection Minerva waterhole 1982 Bird in the bush 1995 acrylic on canvas 180 x 180 cm oil on canvas 183 x 244 cm Private collection Macquarie Bank Collection Blue moonlight 1991-92 Bird over Stradbroke 1995 oil on canvas 122 x 91 cm oil on canvas 173 x 196 cm Private collection Private collection Mopoke night 1991-92 Across the gully 1996 oil on canvas 101 x 111 cm oil on canvas 114 x 149 cm Private collection courtesy King Street Gallery on William Black Sally reflections, Namadgi 1996 Dusk in the Pilbara 2004 gouache, acrylic on paper oil on canvas 42.5 x 32.5 cm 75.9 x 55.6 cm courtesy King Street Gallery on William Collection: Art Gallery of New South Wales Arkaroola Landscape 2005 Gift of Kean Ooi 2004 etching, liftground aquatint and open-bite from 2 plates on Velin Arches 300gsm Termite mound 1996 paper 50 x 69 cm oil on canvas 157.4 x 190.6 cm Collection: Campbelltown Arts Centre courtesy Cicada Press Rain clouds over the Tweed 1999 Yellow moon 2005 oil on canvas 195 x 220 cm oil on canvas 60 x 70 cm Arthur Roe Collection, Melbourne Private Collection At the edge of the billabong 2001 The salt lake 2006 oil on board 60 x 60 cm oil on canvas 60 x 70 cm Private collection Private collection Moonlight at Currumbin 2002 White cliffs 2006 oil on canvas 165 x 200 cm oil on canvas 60 x 70 cm Private collection courtesy the artist & King Street Gallery on William White billabong 2002 oil on canvas 150 x 300 cm Billabong 2008 Private Collection oil on canvas 85 x 100 cm Private collection Pilbara landscape 2003 oil on canvas 165 x 200 cm Day into dusk 2008 Arthur Roe Collection, Melbourne oil on canvas 85 x 100 cm Private collection After the wet, Elcho Island 2004 oil on canvas 175 x 300 cm Desert sanctuary 2008 Private collection, on loan to Orange oil on canvas 115 x 130 cm Regional Gallery Private Collection Arkaroola landscape 2004 Edge of the Simpson Desert 2008 oil on canvas 165.2 x 199.7 cm oil on canvas 115 x 130 cm Collection: Art Gallery of New South Private collection Wales Purchased with funds provided by the Riverbend 2008 Australian Collection Benefactors’ oil on canvas 175 x 300 cm Program 2005 Arthur Roe Collection, Melbourne Salt lakes 2008 Window 2009 oil on canvas 85 x 100 cm watercolour & pencil on paper Private collection 35 x 50 cm sheet size courtesy King Street Gallery on William Waterhole 2008 oil on canvas 70 x 80 cm Dark Bush 2010 Private collection etching, aquatint, open-bite and scraping from 3 plates on Velin Arches 300gsm Arkaroola Dawn 2009 paper etching, liftground aquatint and open-bite 21 x 25 cm with burnishing and scraping from 3 plates courtesy Cicada Press on Velin Arches 300gsm paper 20.5 x 24 cm At the edge of the Simpson Desert 2011 courtesy Cicada Press oil on canvas 175 x 301 cm Private collection Bess & Willa at Wedderburn 2009 ink on paper 53 x 58 cm (sheet size) Creek bed, Fowler’s Gap 2011 courtesy the artist & King Street Gallery oil on canvas 115 x 130 cm on William courtesy King Street Gallery on William Termite Mounds 2009 Magnetic termite mounds 2011 etching, aquatint, open-bite and scraping oil on canvas 65 x 80 cm from 1 plate on Velin Arches 300gsm courtesy King Street Gallery on William paper 33.5 x 50 cm courtesy Cicada Press The purple hill, Flinders 2011 oil on canvas 80 x 65 cm Warburton Morning 2009 courtesy King Street Gallery on William etching, aquatint, open-bite and scraping from 1 plate on Velin Arches 300gsm paper 33.5 x 50 cmcourtesy Cicada Press This exhibition is presented with the assistance of King Street Gallery on William Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks, Sydney Gallery Front Desk Ph: (02) 9258 0173 Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 11am-5pm Sunday afternoons @ the Gallery – Special guest talks each Sunday at 3pm Admission: $7/ $5 Concessions/ $4 National Trust members/ children under 12 free Please be aware that for copyright and conservation reasons the S.H. Ervin Gallery does not permit the use of photographic devices (digital, video, film or mobile phone cameras), with or without flash , inside the exhibition space. .