Current exhibitions
12 April – 30 August 2008 | Children's Gallery
An exhibition designed especially for children 3-8 years old in conjunction with Turner to Monet: the triumph of landscape.
Discover art works which are made from trees, are about trees or even things that live in trees. Treescape’s aim is to stimulate an appreciation of trees as a subject for interesting and exciting artworks.
See paintings, photographs, drawings, prints, sculpture, installations, furniture and more.
Children can trace a tree to take home and have fun with a magnetic tree.
Patrick Collins Curtain call 2003 (detail) ceramic, earthenware, tin-glazed
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Richard Larter
a retrospective
20 June – 14 September 2008
Richard Larter is widely considered to be one of Australia’s most distinguished artists. Born in 1929 he arrived in Australia from England in 1962 and, over the ensuing four decades, created an impressive, provocative, lively body of work.
Larter’s lively wit and satirical insights are matched by his considerable abilities as a draughtsman and particularly as a great colourist. His ability to combine politics, history and sexuality mixed with feeling for colour makes his works unique, energetic and challenging.
Richard Larter Sliding Easy 1970 (detail) synthetic polymer paint on hardboard
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
![Andre Roosevelt 'Legong dancer, Bali [Ni Pollok, aged about 11, later the model and wife of Belgian painter in Bali, A J. Le Mayeur]' 1928 gelatin silver photograph Collection of the National Gallery of Australia](/web/20080820174520im_/http://nga.gov.au/exhibitions/Images/171989.jpg)
Picture Paradise
Asia-Pacific photography 1840s -1940s
11 July – 9 November 2008
Picture Paradise is the first ever comparative survey exhibition of the history of photography in the Asia–Pacific region, from the formative decades of the 1840s to 1860s to the early 1940s and the advent of the Second World War.
The exhibition chronicles the developments in photography throughout South and Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific to the west coast of North America. Early photography in the Asia–Pacific region reveals the beauty and cultural diversity of the region.
Picture Paradise is presented in conjunction with Vivid, Australia’s inaugural National Photography Festival, celebrating photography’s vital role in Australian life and history.
Proudly supported by the National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund
This exhibition is part of Vivid Australia's first ever National Photography Festival. Find out more about at nla.gov.au/vivid
Andre Roosevelt Legong dancer, Bali 1928 gelatin silver photograph
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
FUTURE EXHIBITION
Home at last
13 September 2008 – 1 February 2009 | Children’s Gallery
Visit an exhibition that is just like home. Home at last features prints, drawings, photographs, paintings and decorative arts by Australian artists from the national collection.
The exhibition links art making and the home and demonstrates that works of art are often inspired by the artist’s home environment.
Adults and children will enjoy sharing stories of Australian homes. Explore household objects, toys, indoor and outdoor spaces and family life.
Howard Arkley Floral exterior 1996 synthetic polymer paint on canvas
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra © The Estate of Howard Arkley
FUTURE EXHIBITION
Gods, ghosts and men
Pacific arts from the National Gallery of Australia
10 October 2008 – 11 January 2009
Gods, ghosts and men is the first major exhibition of Pacific Arts to be held in Australia for over twenty years. Embracing the diverse artistic traditions of Polynesia and Melanesia, studying the greatest works of mainly unnamed artists, the exhibition draws upon the world-class Pacific Arts collection of the National Gallery of Australia. Pacific Arts from the NGA collection includes many works that have never been seen by the Australian public.
Proudly supported by the National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund
Portrait bust of a young man 1870 –1900 (detail) Solomon Islands wood, nautilus shell, human hair, patinas, pigment
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
FUTURE EXHIBITION
Degas
master of French art
12 December 2008 – 22 March 2009
Tickets now available for purchase online
For the first time ever in Australia, audiences will have the opportunity to see an exhibition on one of the most important and admired Impressionist artists – Edgar Degas (France 1834-1917).
Presenting an extensive and thorough examination of Degas’ painting, sculpture, drawing, monotypes and prints, the exhibition will highlight his role as a key figure in the development towards modern art. Degas traces the evolution of the artist’s style from finely crafted paintings to exuberant canvases with brilliant palettes and loose brushwork. The exhibition will also showcase works from Degas's favoured subject-matter – the ballet, the race-course, the café-concerts, milliners, laundresses, brothel scenes and bathers.
Edgar Degas Dancers, pink and green c. 1890 (detail) oil on canvas 82.2 x 75.6cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York HO Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs HO Havemeyer, 1929