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Details
- Other Title
- The sisters
- Date
- 1904
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas on hardboard
- Dimensions
- 125.7 x 144.8 cm board; 123.7 x 143.8 cm sight;153.0 x 173.2 x 5.5 cm frame
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1921
- Location
- South Building, ground level, Grand Courts
- Accession number
- 849
- Copyright
- Artist information
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Hugh Ramsay
Works in the collection
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About
Hugh Ramsay's technical virtuosity, keen insight
into character and poetic sensitivity to colour and
scale, made him one of Australia's most important
portraitists. From an early age his precocious talent
held the promise of a fine career, but Ramsay had a
tragically short life. He contracted tuberculosis while
working in Paris in 1902 and died at the age of 29.Painted after returning home from his two-year sojourn
in England and France, 'Two girls in white' is considered
Ramsay’s last triumphant masterpiece. With a
sumptuous feel for fabric, and a rich orchestration
of white against darkness, the painting reveals the
lessons learnt from artists revered by Ramsay – John
Singer Sargent, Diego Velázquez and James Abbott
McNeil Whistler among them. But it is the sense of
intimacy which marks the work as Ramsay’s own. The
portrait is of the artist’s sisters and captures a sense of
candidness and connection between the siblings. -
Exhibition history
Shown in 21 exhibitions
Victorian Artists Society Winter Exhibition (1904), , , 09 Jul 1904–Jul 1904
The Seventh Federal Exhibition (1904), Institute Building, North Terrace, , 12 Nov 1904–03 Dec 1904
Hugh Ramsay memorial exhibition, Fine Arts Society Gallery, Melbourne, 01 Oct 1918–12 Oct 1918
Exhibition of Australian art (1923), Education Department Gallery [Loftus Street], Sydney, Jun 1923 -
Exhibition of Australian Art (1923), Burlington House, , 06 Oct 1923–03 Nov 1923
British Empire Exhibition (1924), Empire Stadium, Wembley, 23 Apr 1924–Oct 1925
150 years of Australian art (1938), National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 Jan 1938–25 Apr 1938
Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 12 Mar 1951–31 Mar 1951
Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Launceston, 09 Apr 1951–28 Apr 1951
Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Jun 1951–21 Jul 1951
Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 06 Aug 1951–01 Sep 1951
Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 24 Sep 1951–20 Oct 1951
Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 12 Nov 1951–10 Dec 1951
A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953
The Arts Festival of the Olympic Games (1956), National Gallery of Victoria [Swanston Street], Melbourne, 18 Nov 1956–15 Dec 1956
Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary (1962-63), National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 17 Mar 1962–31 Mar 1962
Fifteen decades of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 10 Apr 1981–24 May 1981
Two centuries of Australian painting, a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange, 19 Apr 1986–15 Jun 1986
The great Australian art exhibition, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 17 May 1988–17 Jul 1988
The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 13 Aug 1988–25 Sep 1988
The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 Oct 1988–27 Nov 1988
The great Australian art exhibition, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 21 Dec 1988–05 Feb 1989
The great Australian art exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 01 Mar 1989–30 Apr 1989
The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 23 May 1989–16 Jul 1989
Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan, 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, Kyoto, 14 Jul 1992–06 Sep 1992
Hugh Ramsay 1877-1906, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 15 Dec 1992–08 Feb 1993
Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart (2002), S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 12 Jan 2002–24 Feb 2002
American Impressionism and Realism: a landmark exhibition from the Met, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 30 May 2009–20 Sep 2009
Impressions: painting light and life, National Portrait Gallery [Parliamentary Zone], Canberra, 25 Nov 2011–04 Mar 2012
Hugh Ramsay, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 30 Nov 2019–29 Mar 2020
Grand Courts collection rehang, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Nov 2021–2023
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Bibliography
Referenced in 62 publications
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Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Sydney, 1972, 90 (colour illus.).
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Leigh Astbury, Art and Australia (Vol. 37, No. 2), 'Linda Sproul, Tom Roberts and the White Woman Project', pg. 232-235, Sydney, Dec 1999-Feb 2000, 234.
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Australian Exhibition Commission, Catalogue: British Empire Exhibition (Wembley) 1924, 1924, 93. no catalogue numbers
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Herbert Badham, A gallery of Australian art, Sydney, 1954, (illus.). plate no. 17
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Candice Bruce, Brought to Light: Australian Art 1850–1965 from the Queensland Art Gallery collection, 'Family and a Special Friend. George Washington Lambert Portrait group (The mother)', pg. 102-7, Brisbane, 1998, 106.
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A. C., Age, 'Australian artists of the past: Hugh Ramsay', Melbourne, 10 Sep 1932.
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Edmund Capon AM, OBE and Jan Meek (Editors), Portrait of a Gallery, 'Australian Art in the Old Courts', pg. 24-37, Sydney, 1984, 30, 31 (colour illus.).
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Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales: highlights from the collection, Sydney, 2008, 62-63 (colour illus.).
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Edmund Capon AM, OBE, I blame Duchamp: my life's adventures in art, 'John Bull and the Little Boy at Manly', pg. 321-333, Sydney, 2009, 328.
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Edmund Capon, The Sydney Morning Herald, 'The greatest Australian paintings', pg. 46-49, Sydney, 07 Sep 1985-08 Sep 1985, 46 (illus.), 48. Good Weekend Magazine supplement
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Betty Churcher, Australian notebooks, 'Art Gallery of New South Wales', pg. 45-90, Melbourne, 2014, 56 (colour illus.), 254, 255.
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Jonathan Cooper (Editor), The Art Gallery of New South Wales Bulletin, 'Close-Ups of the Collection', pg. 36, Sydney, Feb 1997-Apr 1997, 36 (colour illus.).
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Garry Darby, Women's view (vol. 8, no. 8), 'Hugh Ramsay: Some women in his life', pg. 5-7 and 30., Camperdown, Winter 1993, cover (colour illus., detail), 5, 6, 7 (colour illus.).
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Deborah Edwards, Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Introduction', pg. 8-14, Sydney, 1986, 11, 23 (illus.), 24. cat.no. 15
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Sarah Engledow, Impressions: painting light & life, Catalogue essay, pg. 7-16, Canberra, 2011, 15, 146 (caption), 147 (colour illus.). cat.no. 65
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Brian Finemore, Painting, London, 1961, 16 (illus.).
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Elizabeth Fortescue, Daily telegraph mirror, 'Patricia and the portraits of an artist who died a young man: The rescue of Ramsay', pg. 92-93, Sydney, 08 May 1993, 93 (illus.). NOTE: Patricia Fullerton is positioned infront of painting.
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Patricia Fullerton, Hugh Ramsay: his life and work, Hawthorn East, 1988, 120, 121 (colour illus.), 124-125, 134, 136, 137, 151, 152, 209. cat.no. 173; plate no 43; Appendix Two - Catalogue: paintings
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Patricia Fullerton, Antiques & art in Victoria, 'Hugh Ramsay: Tragic hero of Australian Art', pg. 10-12, Bondi Junction, Nov 1992-Mar 1993, 12.
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Patricia Fullerton, Hugh Ramsay 1877-1906, Melbourne, 1992, 13, 74 (colour illus., detail), 75 (colour illus.). cat.no. 49
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Patricia Fullerton, Australian Dictionary of Biography (Vol 11), 'Ramsay, Hugh (1877-1906)', pg. 326-327, Melbourne, 1988, 326-327.
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Sasha Grishin, Australian art: a history, 'Australian expatriates of the Edwardian period in Great Britain', pg. 160-173, Carlton, 2013, 165 (colour illus.), 166, 548, 567. plate no. 17.4
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Elioth Gruner (Organiser), Catalogue of an exhibition of the works of Australian artists, Sydney, 1923. not paginated, cat.no. 47, Room X
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Deborah Hart, Hugh Ramsay, Canberra, 2019, front cover (colour illus.) (detail), 22-23 (colour illus.) (detail), 165 (colour illus.), 232 (list of works).
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Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Australian Collection: Painting and Sculpture', pg. 102-181, Sydney, 1999, 128 (colour illus.).
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P.G. Konody, Art in Australia [series 3, no. 7], 'The Australian exhibition in London', pg. 924-928, Sydney, Mar 1924, 927, 931.
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Richard Linden, Australia's best painters: Tom Roberts, Hugh Ramsay and Thea Proctor, 'Hugh Ramsay: A young master', pg. 23-28, Port Melbourne, 1997, 27, 28 (colour illus.).
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Lionel Lindsay, 150 years of Australian art, Sydney, 1938. cat.no. 810
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Lionel Lindsay., Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, 'Foreward', Sydney, 1951, 40, 55 (colour illus.). not paginated; cat.no. 110
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Lionel Lindsay., The exhibition of Australian art to be held at the galleries of the Royal Academy London, 1923, 'Australian Art', Sydney, 1923. cat.no. 47; not paginated
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Anne Loxley, The Sydney Morning Herald, 'Olley, Smart and a few of their favourite things', pg. 34, Sydney, 16 Jan 2002, 34.
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Laura M. Markowitz, The Independent Monthly, 'The sibling factor', pg. 72-73, Australia, Jul 1994, 72, 73 (colour illus.).
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Ewen McDonald, AGNSW Collections, 'From Colonialism to late Modernism', pg. 7-106, Sydney, 1994, 25 (colour illus.).
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Hal Missingham, A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Sydney, 1953. cat.no. 93
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Drusilla Modjeska, Stravinsky's lunch, Sydney, 1999, 3 (illus.).
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William Moore, The story of Australian art from the earliest known art of the continent to the art of today (Vol. 1), 'Galleries', pg. 179-214, Sydney, 1934, between 186–187 (illus.), 192.
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Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart, Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart selections, Sydney, 2002. No catalogue numbers; Margaret Olley selection.
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Olympic Civic Committee of Melbourne City Council, The arts festival of the Olympic Games, Melbourne: a guide to the exhibitions with introductory commentaries on the arts in Australia, Melbourne, 1956, 103 (illus.), 144. cat.no. 108; Collection of National Art Gallery of New South Wales
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Barry Pearce, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Australian', pg. 13-35, Sydney, 1988, 20 (illus.).
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Barry Pearce and Haruo Arikawa, Two hundred years of Australian painting: nature, people and art in the southern continent, Tokyo, 1992, 111 (colour illus.). cat.no. 60
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Barry Pearce, Fifteen decades of Australian paintings, Sydney, 1981, (colour illus.). cat.no. 8
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Ursula Prunster, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Home and abroad', pg. 73-74, Sydney, 2000, 74, 93 (colour illus.), 302.
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Bernard Rigby, Look, 'The brain and portraiture: What we see and how we see it', pg. 13, Sydney, Feb 2005, 13 (colour illus.).
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Robert Rooney, The Australian, 'Our forgotten Keats', pg. 8, Sydney, 02 Jan 1993-03 Jan 1993, 8.
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Andrew Sayers, Australian art, 'Beautifying the objects of our daily life': Art and decorative art 1890-1920', pg. 98-119, Oxford, 2001, 116, 117 (illus.). plate no. 65
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Lynne Seear, ARTlines [issue 2, June-August 2009], 'Portraits and pathos', pg. 28-31, Brisbane, 2009, 28 (colour illus.), 31.
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Lynne Seear, American Impressionism & Realism: A landmark exhibition from The Met, 'Continental drift: Stories from Australia about an American exhibition', pg. 51-61, Sydney, 2009, 56 (colour illus.), 59, 216 (colour illus., detail), 217, 222, 223 (colour illus.), 321, 330. cat.no. 19A; Exhibited in the 'Studios and Portraits Australia' section
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Sir Baldwin Spencer, Argus, 'Hugh Ramsay: an Australian artist', pg. 5, Melbourne, 28 Sep 1918, 5. Opening speech by Sir Baldwin Spencer of the Hugh Ramsay memorial exhibition, held in October 1918 at the Fine Art Society, Melbourne.
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William Splatt and Barbara Burton, 100 masterpieces of Australian painting, Adelaide, 1973, 102, 103 (colour illus.). plate no. 48
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Arthur Streeton., Age, 'The National Gallery: work of the students', Melbourne, 24 Dec 1929.
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Jill Sykes (Editor), Look, Melbourne, Oct 2001, 35 (illus.).
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Wendy Symonds (Editor), Look, Heidelberg, Apr 1997, 3 (colour illus.), 6.
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Daniel Thomas, Creating Australia: 200 years of art 1788-1988, 'Twentieth-Century Art: The Individual', pg.188, Melbourne, 1988, 188, 189 (colour illus.).
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Edward A. Vidler, The art of Hugh Ramsay, 'Hugh Ramsay: An appreciation', pg. 5-20, Melbourne, 1918, 8, 17 (illus.), 26.
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Edward A. Vidler, The Triad: a journal devoted to literacy, pictorial, musical and dramatic art, 'The Ramsay Touch', pg. 30-31, Sydney, 10 Dec 1918, 31. cat.no. 1; titled 'The Sisters'
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Donald Williams, In our own image: the story of Australian art, 'In focus - Hugh Ramsay', pg. 76-77, Sydney, 2002, 76 (colour illus.), 77.
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Donald Williams, In our own image: the story of Australian art, Sydney, 1995, 86 (colour illus.), 87.
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Ruth Zubans, Art and Australia (Vol. 26, No. 3), 'Book Reviews', pg. 404, Sydney, Autumn 1989, 404. Book review of Patricia Fullerton's 'Hugh Ramsay: his life and work'.
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Editor Unknown (Editor), Argus, 'Paintings of Hugh Ramsay. Australian's notable work', Melbourne, 01 Oct 1918. Review of Hugh Ramsay's 1918 Memorial Exhibition, held at the Fine Art Society, Melbourne.
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Author Unknown, Victorian Artists' Society Winter Exhibition Catalogue 1904, 'Catalogue - North Gallery.', Melbourne, 1904, (illus.). cat.no. 27; titled 'Two girls in white'
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The Adelaide Festival of Arts 1962: Special exhibitions at the National Gallery of South Australia, 'Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary', Adelaide, 1962. not paginated, cat.no. 80
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The Seventh Federal Exhibition (1904), South Australia, 1904, 12. cat.no. 77; titled 'Two girls in white'
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