Elioth Gruner
(New Zealand, Australia 16 Dec 1882–17 Oct 1939)
- Title
- On the Murrumbidgee
- Year
- 1929
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
-
101.6 x 123.2cm stretcher; 131.5 x 152.5 x 12.0cm frame:
0 - Whole; 100.5 x 121.8cm; SIGHT DIMENSION
- Signature & date
- Signed and dated l.r. corner, grey oil "GRUNER/ 1929".
- Credit
- Purchased 1930
- Accession number
- 840
- Location
- 20th & 21st c Australian art
- Further information
The sweeping mountainscapes of Gruner and Heysen of the 1920s were symbolic expressions of a pastoral utopia in which a purism of form - 'the simplification and reduction to essentials' - which evolved from the modernism of Europe, was adopted to suggest the spirit and essence of the landscape.
Gruner's work became more severe in form and outline during this period, emphasising subtle harmonies of tone and colour and creating a feeling of stability and permanence, in contrast to his previous explorations into the evanescence of light and colour.
"Form becomes of equal consideration with light, and his work is now more carefully organised, extremely simple, less immediate in direct emotional appeal, but infinitely more pictorial. Gruner has substituted the science of picture making for the science of painting light, preserving, however, that sense of light which made his earlier pictures remarkable ...".
Basil Burdett, 1929Australian Art Department, AGNSW, 2001
- Bibliography (24)
-
Sotheby's Australia (Australia), Sotheby's Melbourne: important Australian art (24 & 25 August 2009), Melbourne, 2009, 15 (colour illus.). lot no. 6 is titled 'Study for 'On the Murrumbidgee''.
Gould Galleries Melbourne (Australia), Director's choice 2005: celebrating 25 years of Gould Galleries with an exhibition of 25 significant works, South Yarra, 2005. cat.no. 7; 'Study for "On the Murrumbidgee"', 1929, oil on canvas
'River of Wagga's dreams', pg. 24., Weekend advertiser 12 Oct 2002-13 Oct 2002, 12 Oct 2002-13 Oct 2002, 24.
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Parallel visions: works from the Australian collection, Domain, 2002, 143.
Gavin Wilson (Australia) (Author), The Big River show: Murrumbidgee Riverine, Wagga Wagga, 2002, 12, 13 (colour illus.), 82.
'Seeing the light' by Julie Roberts, pg. 222-231., Art and Australia (Vol. 37, No. 2) Dec 1999-Feb 2000, Dec 1999-Feb 2000, 229 (colour illus.), 230.
Wynne centenary 1897-1997: a selection of past winners from the Gallery's collection 1997, 1997. not paginated
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Patricia McDonald (Editor), Haruo Arikawa (Japan) (Author), Chikashi Kitazaki (Japan) (Editor), Two hundred years of Australian painting: nature, people and art in the southern continent, Tokyo, 1992, 123 (colour illus.). cat.no. 72
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), Terry Smith (Author), Australian painting 1788-1990, South Melbourne, 1991, 188 (illus.). illus.no. 108
Deborah Edwards (Australia) (Author), Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, New South Wales, 1986, 32 (illus.). cat.no. 32
Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Curator), Dinah Dysart (Australia) (Curator), The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition, Sydney, 1986, 18, 25.
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Elioth Gruner 1882-1939, Sydney, 1983, 52 (illus.). cat.no. 58
'Humbly anonymous' by Humphrey McQueen, 36-41., Hemisphere Apr 1979, Apr 1979, 41 (colour illus.).
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), Place, taste and tradition: a study of Australian art since 1788, South Melbourne, 1979, 142 (illus.), 186. plate no. 52; titled 'The Murrumbidgee Ranges'
Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), A selection of eighty-two reproductions mainly from the Australian collection and including examples from the British, French and Dutch [Art Gallery of New South Wales]., Sydney, 1959, (colour illus.). plate no. 29
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), A catalogue of Australian oil paintings in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1875-1952, Sydney, 1953, 83. cat.no. 238
'Elioth Gruner exhibition: memorial to a master', pg. 6., The Sydney morning herald 17 Apr 1940, 17 Apr 1940, 6.
Lionel Lindsay (Australia, b.1874, d.1961) (Author), 150 years of Australian art, Sydney, 1938, (illus.). cat.no. 38; not paginated
William Moore (Australia, b.1868, d.1937) (Author), The story of Australian art from the earliest known art of the continent to the art of today (Vol. 1), Sydney, 1934, frontispiece (colour illus.).
'Gruner exhibition' by J. S. MacDonald., Australasian post 21 Jan 1933, 21 Jan 1933, unknown. Exhibition review
'The Gruner exhibition at the National Art Gallery' by Beatrice Tildesley, pg. 17., Sydney mail 28 Dec 1932, 28 Dec 1932, 17. Exhibition review
'Art Gallery's Gruner exhibition', pg. 12., The Sydney morning herald 20 Dec 1932, 20 Dec 1932, 12 (illus.). Photograph depicts artist and former gallery director, J S MacDonald, advising two installation staff on the hanging of this painting
National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Loan exhibition of the works of Elioth Gruner, Sydney, 1932. cat.no. 18
'"On the Murrumbidgee"', pg. 13., The Sydney morning herald 08 Mar 1930, 08 Mar 1930, 13 (illus.).
- Exhibition history (19)
-
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (1929), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 Jan 1930–17 Feb 1930.
Loan exhibition of the works of Elioth Gruner (1932), National Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 Dec 1932–21 Feb 1933.
150 years of Australian art (1938), National Art Gallery of New South Wales, 27 Jan 1938–25 Apr 1938.
A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953.
Elioth Gruner 1882-1939 (1983), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 Jul 1983–04 Sep 1983.
Two centuries of Australian painting, a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Orange Regional Gallery, 19 Apr 1986–15 Jun 1986.
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), S.H. Ervin Gallery, 19 Dec 1986–01 Feb 1987.
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, 06 Mar 1987–29 Mar 1987.
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Orange Regional Gallery, 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 City Art Gallery, 01 Jul 1987–26 Jul 1987.
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Albury Regional Gallery, 07 Aug 1987–06 Sep 1987.
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Broken Hill City Art Gallery, 18 Sep 1987–26 Oct 1987.
The Wynne prize: an Australian landscape tradition (1987), Tamworth City Gallery, 05 Nov 1987–13 Dec 1987.
Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 28 Apr 1992–28 Jun 1992.
Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 14 Jul 1992–06 Sep 1992.
Leaping boundaries: a century of New Zealand artists in Australia, Mosman Art Gallery, 09 Jun 2001–17 Jul 2001.
Parallel Visions: Twenty-two artists from the Australian collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 22 Feb 2002–May 2003.
The Big River Show - Murrumbidgee Riverine, Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery, 11 Oct 2002–01 Dec 2002.
