Title
Weetangera, Canberra
1937
Artist
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Details
- Other Titles
- The Murrumbidgee at Weetangra
Murrumbidgee at Weetangera - Date
- 1937
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 63.8 x 76.5 cm stretcher; 88.0 x 100.9 x 6.0 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed and dated l.r. corner, brown oil "GRUNER/ 1937".
- Credit
- Purchased 1937
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 6413
- Copyright
- Wynne Prize
- Winner - 1937
- Artist information
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Elioth Gruner
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
"His later landscape reveals a greater refinement of drawing, a more subtle engagement with the elements of Nature, upon which the mood of the artist is indelibly but delicately impressed."
Lionel Lindsay, 1938'Weetangera, Canberra' was Gruner's seventh and last Wynne Prize award and also won the Society of Artists award for the best picture in their annual exhibition for 1937. Together with other works painted after his return from Europe in 1925, it follows a marked departure from the works of his earlier Emu Plains series (also on display) and shows his awareness of the concerns of modern painting.
Towards the end of his life, when this work was painted, Gruner told friends that the areas around Bellingen and Canberra had the greatest clarity of light, that quality that he had '... travelled the continent looking for'. In this painting of the Murrumbidgee River at Weetangera, Gruner has thinned his paint, allowing it to flow with and thereby emphasise the anatomy and pattern of the landscape.
Following his return to Australia in 1921, Gruner's increased interest in design was influenced by George Lambert, as well as the experience of making aerial sketches whilst flying with a friend in 1920. Whilst in England in 1924 - 25 he had been impressed by the opinions and works of various leading English and French artists, such as William Orpen, Gauguin and Cézanne. Norman Lindsay recalled some of Gruner's frequent maxims at this time: 'Paint can't be too thin. No picture should be bigger than two by three feet. Style is more important than subject. Paint should have a dry, pastel-like surface'.
In his will, Elioth Gruner provided for an annual 'Gruner Prize' competition for the best oil landscape painted by a student resident in New South Wales, which continues to the present day, providing a practical embodiment of his generosity towards his fellow artists.
Australian Art Department, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1997
This painting won the Wynne Prize in 1937 and was acquired by the Gallery in 1937.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 11 exhibitions
Society of Artists Annual Exhibition (1937), Education Department Gallery [Loftus Street], Sydney, 04 Sep 1937–01 Oct 1937
150 years of Australian art (1938), National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 Jan 1938–25 Apr 1938
Wynne Art Prize, 1937, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Feb 1938–Mar 1938
Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, 18 Feb 1939–29 Oct 1939
Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, 25 May 1940–29 Sep 1940
Art of Australia 1788-1941, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 01 Oct 1941–26 Oct 1941
Art of Australia 1788-1941, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 17 Nov 1941–31 Dec 1941
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Yale University Art Gallery, United States of America, 02 Mar 1942–23 Mar 1942
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 03 Apr 1942–15 May 1942
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Wilmington Society of Fine Arts, Wilmington, 01 Jun 1942–27 Jun 1942
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 10 Jul 1942–27 Aug 1942
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Toledo Museum of Art, United States of America, 06 Sep 1942–27 Sep 1942
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, 05 Oct 1942–02 Nov 1942
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Cleveland Museum of Art, United States of America, 09 Nov 1942–07 Dec 1942
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Detroit Institiute of Arts, Detroit, 01 Jan 1943–29 Jan 1943
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 08 Apr 1943–05 May 1943
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Fort Wayne Art School and Museum, Fort Wayne, 12 May 1943–31 May 1943
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, 07 Sep 1943–08 Oct 1943
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Philbrook Art Museum, Tulsa, 20 Oct 1943–17 Nov 1943
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Dallas, 28 Nov 1943–26 Dec 1943
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Abilene Museum of Fine Arts, Abilene, 10 Jan 1944–07 Feb 1944
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Heard Museum, Phoenix Fine Arts Association, Phoenix, 21 Feb 1944–20 Mar 1944
Art of Australia 1788-1941, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, 04 Apr 1944–07 May 1944
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Rosicrucian Egyptian Oriental Museum, San Jose, 19 May 1944–16 Jun 1944
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Hamline University, St Paul, 01 Dec 1944–17 Dec 1944
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Society Liberal Arts, Joslyn Memorial, Omaha, 06 Jan 1945–27 Jan 1945
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, United States of America, 06 Feb 1945–27 Feb 1945
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Quincy Art Club, Quincy, 09 Mar 1945–30 Mar 1945
Art of Australia 1788-1941, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, 13 Apr 1945–04 May 1945
Art of Australia 1788-1941, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 14 May 1945–04 Jun 1945
Art of Australia 1788-1941, North Texas State Teachers' College, Denton, 14 Jun 1945–05 Jul 1945
Aspects of Australian art: Art Gallery of New South Wales Travelling Art Exhibition 1976, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1976–1977
Elioth Gruner 1882-1939 (1983), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 Jul 1983–04 Sep 1983
A century of Australian landscape painting: mood and moment, Peking Art Gallery, Beijing, Oct 1983–Dec 1983
A century of Australian landscape painting: mood and moment, Shanghai Art Gallery, Shanghai, Oct 1983–Dec 1983
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 19 Dec 1986–01 Feb 1987
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Booragul, 06 Mar 1987–29 Mar 1987
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Orange Regional Gallery, Orange, 10 Apr 1987–17 May 1987
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Griffith Regional Art Gallery, , 03 Jun 1987–20 Jun 1987
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Australia, 01 Jul 1987–26 Jul 1987
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Albury Regional Gallery, Albury, 07 Aug 1987–06 Sep 1987
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Broken Hill City Art Gallery, Broken Hill, 18 Sep 1987–26 Oct 1987
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Tamworth City Gallery, Tamworth, 05 Nov 1987–13 Dec 1987
Parallel Visions: Twenty-two artists from the Australian collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 22 Feb 2002–May 2003
Elioth Gruner: the texture of light, Canberra Museum and Art Gallery, Canberra, 08 Mar 2014–22 Jun 2014
Elioth Gruner: the texture of light, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, 26 Jul 2014–26 Oct 2014
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Bibliography
Referenced in 21 publications
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BJW, Elioth Gruner memorial loan exhibition, 'Elioth Gruner', pg. 1-3, Sydney, 1940, 2.
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Helen Campbell., Wynne centenary 1897-1997: a selection of past winners from the Gallery's collection, 'Celebrating the Wynne Centenary 1897-1997', Sydney, 1997, (colour illus.). not paginated; no catalogue numbers
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Edmund Capon AM, OBE (Director), Barry Pearce (Curator) and Dinah Dysart (Curator), The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition, Sydney, 1986, 26.
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Deboarh Clark, Elioth Gruner: the texture of light, 'Elioth Gruner: the texture of light', pg. 9-89, Canberra, 2014, 70, 71 (colour illus.), 97, 101.
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Douglas Dundas, Art Gallery of New South Wales quarterly, 'The Wynne and Sulman prizes', pg. 53-56, Sydney, Jan 1961, 55 (illus.). titled 'The Murrumbidgee at Weetangra'
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Lou Klepac, Parallel visions: works from the Australian collection, 'Hans Heysen / Elioth Gruner / Horace Trennery', pg. 32-47, Sydney, 2002, 44 (colour illus.), 45, 143, 147.
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Lionel Lindsay, Art in Australia [series 3, no. 70], 'The exhibition of One Hundred and Fifty Years of Australian Art', pg. 14-21, Sydney, Mar 1938, 17 (colour illus.).
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Lionel Lindsay, 150 years of Australian art, Sydney, 1938. cat.no. 103 [Gallery No. 2]
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Robert Lindsay., Aspects of Australian Art: Art Gallery of New South Wales travelling art exhibition 1976, 'Elioth Gruner', Sydney, 1976, (illus.). cat.no. 22; not paginated; titled 'The Murrumbidgee at Weetangra' [sic]
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Myra Morris, Australian landscape: painted by Australian artists, Sydney, 1944, front dustjacket (colour illus.).
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New South Wales Society of Artists, Society of Artists annual exhibition, Sydney, 1937, (illus.). cat.no. 106; titled 'Landscape near Canberra', kindly lent by the National Art Gallery of NSW; caption for reproduction titled 'Murrumbidgee at Westangera [sic]'.
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Barry Pearce, Elioth Gruner 1882-1939, Sydney, 1983, 29, 56 (colour illus.), 57. cat.no. 73
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Barry Pearce, A century of Australian landscape: mood and moment, Sydney, 1983, 16, 75 (colour illus.). cat.no. 53
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Barry Pearce, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Earth, sky and paint', pg. 149-150, Sydney, 2000, 156 (colour illus.), 300.
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Bernard William Smith, A catalogue of Australian oil paintings in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1875-1952, Sydney, 1953, 83-84. cat.no. 239, titled 'The Murrumbidgee at Weetangra'
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Sydney Ure Smith (Editor), Art of Australia 1788-1941, New York, 1941, 39. cat.no. 76. Titled 'Weetangra [sic], Canberra'.
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Sydney Ure Smith (Editor), Present day art in Australia, Sydney, 1949, 37 (colour illus.).
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Editor Unknown (Editor), The Home annual: Australian life and scenery, Sydney, Oct 1938, 14 (colour illus.).
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Unknown (Editor), Sun, 'Landscape prize', pg. 2, Sydney, 25 Feb 1938, 2.
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Editor Unknown (Editor), The Sydney morning herald, 'Archibald Prize winner. Normand H. Baker. Wynne Prize to Gruner', Sydney, 25 Feb 1938. Review of the Archibald and Wynne Prizes for 1937.
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Editor Unknown (Editor), Bulletin, 'Sunday shows. Archibald and Wynne prizes', pg. 38, Sydney, 02 Mar 1938, 38.
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