Arthur Boyd
(Australia, England 24 Jul 1920–24 Apr 1999)
- Title
- The expulsion
- Year
- (1947-1948)
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on hardboard
- Dimensions
-
101.6 x 122.0cm board; 113.0 x 133.2 x 5.5cm frame
- Signature & date
- Signed l.r. corner, black oil "Arthur Boyd". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1986
- Accession number
- 38.1986
- Copyright
- © Reproduced with permission of Bundanon Trust
- Location
- 20th & 21st c Australian art
- Further information
'The expulsion' completes Arthur Boyd’s cycle of biblical-themed paintings which he began in 1944. Based on the Old Testament story of Adam and Eve expelled by God from the Garden of Eden, the figures recall the work of 15th-century Florentine painter, Masaccio. Boyd transposes this early Renaissance pictorial idea into an Australian wilderness.
The focus of 'The expulsion' is not so much the biblical narrative as a poignant depiction of Boyd’s concern for lovers denied privacy, which he had experienced when courting his future wife, Yvonne, after his conscription into the army.
I see lovers as victims …They suffer from being unprivate, watched. Love becomes guilt because it is frustrated. Pictures with animals or another human figure watching lovers are intended to give the idea of spying, a disturbance, a breaking into the moment
of privacy.Arthur Boyd, 1981
- Bibliography (28)
-
‘Barry Pearce’s next book-call it “segueing with intent”’ by Jill Sykes, pg. 28-29., Look Mar 2012, Mar 2012, 28.
'Naked and the dread' by Harbant Gill, pg. 32., Sun-Herald 22 Sep 2008, 22 Sep 2008, 32.
Elizabeth Cross (Australia, b.1943) (Author), The Naked and the Nude, Ballarat, 2008, 111 (colour illus.), 131. no catalogue numbers
Religion and literature Spring 2007, Spring 2007, front cover (colour illus.).
Christie's, Australia Pty. Ltd. (Australia) (Author), Christie's Australia. Australian, International and Contemporary Painting. Melbourne 22 August 2005, South Yarra, 2005, 53. lot no. 40; titled 'The Expulsion', not dated, oil on canvas, 109.4 x 114.4cm, Estimate: $22,000-35,000; reproduced in colour, this painting is a variation on the AGNSW's work
Artwise: visual arts 7-10 2004, 2004, 154 (colour illus.).
Melissa Keys (Australia) (Author), Brenda L Croft (Australia, b.1964) (Author), Heavenly creatures, Bulleen, 2004, 5, 18 (colour illus.), 30.
Christie's, Australia Pty. Ltd. (Australia) (Compilator), Christie's Australia: Australian and International Paintings, Sydney, Aug 2003, 101. lot no. 79; titled 'The Expulsion', not dated, oil on canvas, 109.4 x 114.4cm; reproduced in colour, this painting is a variation on the AGNSW's work
Dynasties: the Boyd family 2003, 2003, (colour illus.). This episode of 'Dynasties' was first screened on ABC television on 23 November 2003 at 8:00pm.
'About a Boyd', pg. 7., Look Jun 2002, Jun 2002, 7. Article with photograph of Tom Rosenthal standing in front of the painting. Rosenthal owned this work until he sold it to the AGNSW in 1986.
Delys Bird (Australia) (Editor), Robert Dixon (Australia, b.1954) (Editor), Christopher Lee (Australia, b.1962) (Editor), Authority and influence: Australian literary criticism 1950-2000, St. Lucia, 2001, front cover (colour illus.).
Janet McKenzie (Australia) (Author), Arthur Boyd: Art and life, London, 2000, 74, 75 (colour illus.), 76.
Lou Klepac (Australia; Croatia, b.1936) (Author), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Bruce James (Australia) (Author), John McDonald (Australia, b.1961) (Author), Peter Pinson (Australia, b.1943) (Author), Gavin Fry (Author), Sasha Grishin AM (Australia) (Author), Deborah Hart (South Africa; United Kingdom; Australia, b.1959) (Author), Australian painters of the twentieth century, Roseville, 2000, 150 (colour illus.).
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Domain, 2000, 164, 173 (colour illus.), 300.
Aspects of Australian art 2000, 2000, (colour illus.). card no. 9: Arthur Boyd 'The expulsion' 1947-48
'The legacy in Sydney Arthur Boyd' by Barry Pearce, pg. 18-20., Look Jul 1999, Jul 1999, 19 (colour illus.), 20.
Bruce James (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, Domain, 1999, 154 (colour illus.).
Louise Sweetland (Australia) (Editor), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), Elizabeth Cross (Australia, b.1943) (Author), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Southern Reflections: 10 contemporary Australian artists, Domain, 1998, 38 (colour illus.). fig.no. 8
Art Wise - Visual Arts years 7-10 1997, 1997, 21, 34, 52, 118, 122, 126, 129, 146, 148.
Ewen McDonald (Australia) (Editor), The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections, Sydney, 1994, 54 (colour illus.).
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Arthur Boyd retrospective, Sydney, 1993, 10 (colour illus.), 16, 73 (colour illus.). cat.no. 56
Art and Australia (Vol. 24, No. 3) Autumn 1987, Autumn 1987, 325 (colour illus.).
Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Sydney, 1986, (illus.).
Dr Ursula Hoff (England; Australia, b.1909, d.2005) (Author), The art of Arthur Boyd, London, 1986, 43, 113 (colour illus.), dust jacket [back cover] (colour illus.). plate no. 36
Richard Demarco Gallery (Scotland), Retrospective exhibition of paintings, drawings and other work by Arthur Boyd: 14 April to 10 May 1969, Edinburgh, 1969, (illus.). cat.no. 12; titled 'Expulsion'
Franz Philipp (Austria; England, b.1914, d.1970) (Author), Arthur Boyd, London, 1967, 52, 68, plate no. XVI (colour illus.). cat.no. 3.17, plate no. XVI
John Douglas Pringle (England; Australia, d.1999) (Author), Australian Painting Today, London, 1963, 62 (colour illus.).
'Small and temporary: but it's a big pointer to the future' by Jill Sykes, pg. 28-29., Look Sep 2011, Sep 2011, 29 (colour illus.).
- Exhibition history (10)
-
Arthur Boyd retrospective exhibition (1964), Art Gallery of South Australia, 07 Mar 1964–21 Mar 1964.
Retrospective exhibition of paintings, drawings and other works by Arthur Boyd (1969), Richard Demarco Gallery, 14 Apr 1969–10 May 1969.
Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 26 Sep 1986–23 Nov 1986.
Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 Dec 1993–06 Mar 1994.
Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], 30 Mar 1994–23 May 1994.
Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 09 Jun 1994–21 Aug 1994.
Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Art Gallery of Western Australia, 22 Sep 1994–20 Nov 1994.
Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000.
Heavenly creatures, Heide Museum of Modern Art, 04 Dec 2004–20 Jan 2005.
The naked and the nude, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, 13 Sep 2008–07 Dec 2008.
