Title
Pan is dead (still life)
1911
Artist
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Details
- Other Titles
- Still life (Pan)
Still Life - Date
- 1911
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 76.5 x 63.5 cm stretcher; 105.0 x 90.0 x 10.0 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed l.r., oil "GWL" [monogram]
- Credit
- Purchased 1952
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 8701
- Copyright
- Artist information
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George Lambert
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
'Pan is dead (still life)' depicts a sculpted head of Pan beside white gloves and a glass vase filled with white roses. Its literary title evokes notions of mythology and the spiritual force of nature. The painting highlights George W Lambert's interest in the appearance of objects represented in paint as opposed to the reality of those objects. The solid head of Pan and the fragile flowers exemplify his investigation: the sculpted curls of Pan's hair resemble the rose blooms, which have been sharply defined to create this conflict between perception and reality.
The work was painted following Lambert's performance of Pan in the play 'The awakening of Pan' (1909), for which he sculpted a clay head of Pan modelled to his own appearance, adding horns and curls characteristic of the allegorical figure. It is the plaster cast of this clay head that is represented in this painting.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 4 exhibitions
Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000
People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation, Dubbo Regional Art Gallery, Dubbo, 05 May 2001–12 Aug 2001
People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation, New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, 14 Sep 2001–28 Oct 2001
People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation, Albury Regional Gallery, Albury, 04 Jan 2002–27 Jan 2002
People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria, 09 Feb 2002–24 Mar 2002
People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation, Hazelhurst Arts Centre, , 06 Apr 2002–02 Jun 2002
People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, 05 Jul 2002–18 Aug 2002
George Lambert retrospective: heroes & icons, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 29 Jun 2007–16 Sep 2007
Still life, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 Jul 2013–23 Apr 2014
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Bibliography
Referenced in 5 publications
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Anne Gray, George W. Lambert retrospective: heros and icons, 'George W. Lambert: exposed', pg. 1-39, Canberra, 2007, 16, 47, 48 (colour illus.), 117 (colour illus.), 129, 212. cat.no. 48
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Anne Gray, Art and Artifice: George Lambert (1873-1930), 'Vision and design', pg. 46-57, 1996, 48, 63 (illus.), 203. Generally relevant information, pg. 51-52.
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Anna Gray, George Lambert (1873-1930) catalogue raisonné: paintings and sculpture, drawings in public collections, Perth, 1996, 18, 44, 234. cat.no. P140
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Anne McLaughlin, People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation, 'People and destiny: George Lambert and Federation', pg. 10-33, Dubbo, 2001, 23-24, 38. titled 'Pan is dead'
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Jade Williamson, Look, 'Brought to light: still life from the Australian collection', pg. 22-23, Sydney, Sep 2013, 22 (colour illus.).
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