National Gallery of Victoria to show Bertram Mackennal Retrospective |
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| Thursday, 01 November 2007 06:30 |
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Melbourne, Vic. - A new retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria will explore the practice of Melbourne-born Bertram Mackennal (1863-1931), one of Australia’s most important and internationally successful sculptors. Open from 30 November 2007 until 24 February 2008 Bertram Mackennal will include approximately 60 sculptures and small models from public and private collections throughout Australia and abroad. "What is one to make of Bertram Mackennal? He can be called many things – ‘New Sculptor’, Symbolist, realist, establishment…As I see it, no such restrictive definitions can adequately describe the oeuvre of one of the great sculptors of the period." . . . Benedict Read, sculptural historian, Bertram Mackennal monograph, 2007 A new retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria will explore the practice of Melbourne-born Bertram Mackennal (1863-1931), one of Australia’s most important and internationally successful sculptors. The exhibition will feature Mackennal’s key works Circe from the National Gallery of Victoria, The Dancer from the Art Gallery of NSW, The Earth and the elements from the Tate, London, and life-size figure Diana wounded, and Sappho from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Despite his time abroad, Mackennal maintained close links with Australia through civic and private commissions and exhibitions. His art and his status as a ‘cultural hero’ for Australians had a significant impact on the growth and directions of sculpture in Australia. Dr Gerard Vaughan, NGV Director, said that Mackennal was an inspiration to his fellow artists and a leader in his profession. "Mackennal was a pioneer for Australian artists of his time: he belonged to the first generation of Australian born artists to travel to Europe in search of opportunity and success; the first Australian artist to be elected to membership of the Royal Academy in London; the first Australian to have work purchased for the British nation; and the first Australian artist to be knighted. Today, Mackennal’s presence is still firmly felt in Melbourne with many of his works on public display at the NGV and in outside locations including the exterior panels of the Victorian Parliament building; The Springthorpe memorial 1897 – 1901, dedicated to Annie Springthorpe in Boroondara Cemetery, Kew, and the King Edward VII memorial 1911-20 in the Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra Gardens. During his short time in Australia, Mackennal met French actress Sarah Bernhardt, and later in Europe, fellow Australian soprano Nellie Melba. He undertook commissions and formed important friendships with both women, and through his association with them became renowned as the creator of beautiful, empathetic portraits of the era’s newly liberated modern women. Two of the most arresting of these works - the busts of Nellie Melba and young American socialite Miss Grace Dunham - will be included in the exhibition. Mackennal was also celebrated for his mastery of the nude form. Dr Vaughan said: "While Symbolist and Art Nouveau tendencies are evident in Mackennal’s work, he also belonged to a radically innovative movement known as 'New Sculpture' that put more emphasis on naturalism rather than conventional classicism.
Bertram Mackennal will be open at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 30 November 2007 until 24 February 2008. Entry is free. NGV Australia is open daily, 10am – 5pm, closed Mondays. For more details visit http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvaustralia/ or call (03) 8620 2222. This exhibition has been organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. About the NGV Since 1861, the National Gallery of Victoria has been displaying art works for the enjoyment of the community. In the mid-1990s, the gallery acknowledged that its St Kilda Road building could no longer successfully meet the demands of its growing collection and extensive exhibitions schedule. The Collection is now split between The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, home of Australian art, and NGV International at St Kilda Road, the new redeveloped building dedicated to the gallery's magnificent international artworks. Our visitors now have two wonderful NGV buildings dedicated to bringing art and people together. Visit : www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
For much of his adult life Mackennal was an expatriate and spent all but three to four years in Europe. He became a leading civic sculptor in Britain and ran two studios in London at the height of his career as the beneficiary of Royal patronage. Through this patronage he produced a number of significant royal and imperial monuments in Britain, Australia and India. 
"His bold, sensual, female nudes, often presented in mythological, allegorical or biblical guise, are exemplary of Mackennal’s elegant ‘New Sculpture’ style. These are well represented in the exhibition by statues and statuettes such as Circe 1893, Truth 1894 and Salome c1897," he said. 
