Sunday 12 July 2020

Guy Maestri graduated from the National Art School with a BFA, Hons (painting) in 2003. In 2016, he made his first painted bronze works in a series called xerox and the sculptures Maestri donated to NAS, Innocent X and Gould (2017), are from this series. The artist has said that he wanted the works to mirror the material values of the 21st century. It looks like the sculptures are made from an im…

Sunday 12 July 2020

The model in this painting is believed to be Rita Lee, a popular artists’ model who worked at the National Art School in the 1930s and 40s. Lee was also a model for Norman Lindsay, Max Dupain, Rah Fizelle and Ralph Balson, and later married NAS photography teacher George Young, and so had a long association with the art school. The student who painted her was Freda Robertshaw (1916-1997), who ca…

Wednesday 08 July 2020

Les Blakebrough (b. 1930) is one of Australia’s most respected ceramic artists. He is best known for the type of translucent porcelain he developed called ‘Southern Ice’ porcelain. Fired at 1300 degrees Celsius, this material has the ‘whiteness of snow and a translucence of ice’. It is now used by ceramicists worldwide and features in the practice of another NAS alumni, Juz Kitson. Blakebrough’s…

Friday 03 July 2020

Article by Stephen A. Russell NAS Head of Drawing Dr Maryanne Coutts and NAS Fellow and former lecturer Wendy Sharpe will be sharing drawing advice on SBS Australia’s program, Life Drawing Live. Notable figures from the Australian arts scene will be on hand on the night, but if you want a sneaky head start, SBS chatted to one of those experts, practising artist, still-life lover and Head of Draw…

Friday 03 July 2020

There is a story of interconnectedness that resonates amongst the three portraits and the artists selected here from the NAS Collection that goes beyond the intimate moment when eyes are locked, and human expression is stilled. Douglas Dundas (1900-81) taught at the East Sydney Technical College (later called the National Art School) from 1930-65. His modernist style was instrumental in the earl…