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An image of Pyrmont and city by Kevin Connor

Kevin Connor

(Australia 1932– )

Title
Pyrmont and city
Other titles:
Pyrmont and the city
Place of origin
Pyrmont → Sydney → New South Wales → Australia
Year
1992
Media category
Drawing
Materials used
brush and black ink, white gouache on thick white wove paper
Dimensions

104.0 x 132.8cm sheet

Signature & date
Signed and dated l.r. corner, black ink "Connor 9 [illeg.]".
Credit
Gift of the Trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation 1993
Accession number
104.1993
Copyright
© Kevin Connor
Location
Not on display
Further information

'Pyrmont and the city' is the culmination of numerous smaller plein air drawings in ink and gouache of Pyrmont, an inner suburb of Sydney, which has provided fertile subject matter for Connor since the early 1980s.

The drawing shows the area before it was developed, changing in character from semi-industrial to residential, with modern apartment blocks, a casino and recreation areas. ‘It was a wilderness – abandoned old buildings, grass, old stairways and the old railway’ (Kevin Connor, 2003). It also represented a new development in Connor’s oeuvre in the use of white gouache with ink, which accounts for its painterly nature. A second related drawing, 'Pyrmont (view to Blackwattle Bay)' 1992 is also in the Gallery’s collection.

Bibliography (13)

Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia) (Author), Helen Campbell (Australia) (Author), Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 years of the Dobell Prize for Drawing, Sydney, 2012, 6, 20, 21 (colour illus.), 60.

'A fine harvest of drawings: legacy of an exceptional draughtsman' by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 28-31., Look Nov 2011, Nov 2011, 29.

Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia), The Dobell Prize for Drawing: 1993-2004, Sydney, 2004, 8 (colour illus., detail), 9, 16, 17 (colour illus.), 51.

'Drawing a winner: a decade of Dobell prizes shows us how and why' by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 24-27., Look Aug 2003, Aug 2003, front cover (colour illus.), 7 (colour illus.), 24.

'Drawing the spotlight' by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 18-19., Look Jun 2002, Jun 2002, 18 (colour illus.).

'Drawing at its best', by Judith Wright, pg. 15., Look Mar 1999, Mar 1999, 15 (colour illus.).

Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, Domain, 1997, 109 (colour illus.). cat.no. 103

Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Australian watercolours 1880s to 1990s, Sydney, 1995, 11.

‘The first Dobell Prize for Drawing’ by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 23., Look Jun 1993, Jun 1993, 23 (colour illus.).

‘Art prizes’ short lists announced’ by Peter Cochrane, pg. 8., The Sydney Morning Herald 27 Apr 1993, 27 Apr 1993, 8.

‘Prize drawings on the quirks of fate’ by Elizabeth Fortescue, pg. 26., Daily Telegraph Mirror 24 Apr 1993, 24 Apr 1993, 26.

‘Colourless prizes…without surprises’ by Elwyn Lynn, pg. 13., The Weekend Australian 10 Apr 1993, 10 Apr 1993, 13. weekend review supplement

‘Entries timid, unresolved except in a few cases’ by Elwyn Lynn, pg. 4., The Weekend Australian 03 Apr 1993, 03 Apr 1993, 3-4.

Exhibition history (10)

Kevin Connor: recent work (1992), Australian Galleries, Sydney, 19 Oct 1992–07 Nov 1992.

Dobell Prize for Drawing 1993, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 03 Apr 1993–09 May 1993.

Great gifts, great patrons, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 Aug 1994–19 Oct 1994.

Expressive figuration: drawings by Kevin Connor, Pam Hallandal and Jan Senbergs, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 Dec 1996–02 Feb 1997.

Expressive figuration: drawings by Kevin Connor, Pam Hallandal and Jan Senbergs, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, 18 Apr 1997–01 Jun 1997.

Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 Dec 1997–15 Mar 1998.

Expressive figuration: drawings by Kevin Connor, Pam Hallandal and Jan Senbergs, Albury Regional Gallery, 23 Jan 1998–01 Mar 1998.

Dobell Drawing Prize 1998 (Touring show), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 Mar 1998–19 Apr 1998.

Dobell Drawing Prize 1998 (Touring show), The George Adams Gallery, Victorian Arts Centre, 24 Jul 1998–06 Sep 1998.

Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 Years of the Dobell Drawing Prize, Grafton Regional Gallery, 15 Feb 2013–24 Mar 2013.