Arthur Boyd
(Australia, England 24 Jul 1920–24 Apr 1999)
- Title
- The mockers
- Place of origin
-
Murrumbeena →
Victoria →
Australia
- Year
- (1945)
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas on hardboard
- Dimensions
-
84.3 x 102.2cm board; 86.2 x 104.0 x 3.0cm frame
- Signature & date
- Signed l.l., black oil "Arthur Boyd". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1965
- Accession number
- OA1.1965
- Copyright
- © AGNSW
- Location
- 20th & 21st c Australian art
- Further information
Born into an extraordinarily artistic family, Arthur Boyd is considered one of Australia’s greatest painters of the 20th century. In the 1940s, he produced a series of paintings which tackled overtly biblical themes, set predominantly within the Victorian landscape near the Boyd family property at Murrumbeena, close to Port Phillip Bay.
'The mockers' is one of a series of about 15 paintings executed between 1945 and 1948 after Boyd’s discharge from the army. Responding to the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps, witnessed through newsreel footage, Boyd drew on his knowledge of the allegories of Pieter Breugel the Elder and Hieronymus Bosch, in an attempt to find a personal answer to the moral chaos and social disorder he observed.
- Bibliography (36)
-
Paul Magin (Author), The Murrumbeena Boyds: just like us; but different, Caulfield, 2006, 18. List of works.
Jean Hillier (Australia) (Editor), Denis Cryle (Australia) (Editor), Consent and consensus: Politics, media and governance in twentieth century Australia, Perth, 2005, front cover (colour illus.).
Helen Verity Hewitt (Australia) (Author), Patrick White, painter, manqué: paintings, painters and their influence on his writing, Carlton, 2002, 61.
Sue-Anne Wallace (Author), Rosemary Crumlin (Australia) (Author), O Soul O Spirit O Fire, Brisbane, 2001, not paginated. exhibition list
'Arthur Boyd 1921-1999: The mockers' by Mary Woodburne, pg. 38., Look Jun 2000, Jun 2000, 38 (colour illus.). Australian Icon series
Janet McKenzie (Australia) (Author), Arthur Boyd: Art and life, London, 2000, 64 (colour illus., detail), 65-66.
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Domain, 2000, 164, 172 (colour illus.), 300.
'The lie of the land' by Susan McCulloch-Uehlin, pg. 16-19., The Weekend Australian 20 Nov 1999-21 Nov 1999, 20 Nov 1999-21 Nov 1999, 18.
'The legacy in Sydney Arthur Boyd' by Barry Pearce, pg. 18-20., Look Jul 1999, Jul 1999, 20.
Jenny Aland (Editor), Max Darby (Editor), Art Connections, Port Melbourne, 1998, 91 (colour illus.).
Lisa Bowman (Australia) (Author), Australians on Arthur Boyd, Melbourne, 1998, 4 (colour illus.).
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Arthur Boyd retrospective, Sydney, 1993, 64 (colour illus.). cat.no. 46
Art and architecture of twentieth century: Australia and the West: Study guide 1993, 1993, 87 (illus.).
Jenny Aland (Author), Art connections, Port Melbourne, 1991, 91 (colour illus.).
Patricia Dobrez (Author), Peter Herbst (Author), The art of the Boyds: generations of artistic achievement, Sydney, 1990, 100 (colour illus.). plate no. 93
'Arthur Boyd interviewed by Peter Fuller', pg. 20-26., Modern painters Summer 1990, Summer 1990, 22 (illus.).
Annabel Davie (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook, Domain, 1988, 24.
Barrett Reid (b.1926, d.1995) (Author), Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), Janine Burke (Australia, b.1952) (Author), Charles Merewether (Australia; Scotland) (Author), Christine Dixon (Author), Max Harris (Australia, b.1921, d.1995) (Author), Angry Penguins and Realist Painting in Melbourne in the 1940s, London, 1988, 76, 131 (illus.), 169. cat.no. 112
Dr Ursula Hoff (England; Australia, b.1909, d.2005) (Author), The art of Arthur Boyd, London, 1986, 17-18, 42-43. cat.no. 36
Martin Terry (Australia) (Author), Masterpieces of Australian Painting, Sydney, 1984, 149 (colour illus.).
'Tradition and Post-Colonialism: Hugh Hood and Martin Boyd' by Diana Brydon, pg.1-15., Mosaic: a journal for the comparative study of literature Sep 1982, Sep 1982, 6 (illus.), 8 (illus. detail),11, 12 (illus. detail).
Editor Unknown (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Domain, 1972, 113 (colour illus.).
Richard Demarco Gallery (Scotland), Retrospective exhibition of paintings, drawings and other work by Arthur Boyd: 14 April to 10 May 1969, Edinburgh, 1969, (illus.).
Franz Philipp (Austria; England, b.1914, d.1970) (Author), Arthur Boyd, London, 1967, XII (illus.), 241. cat.no. 3.1, Biblical Paintings 1945-50, including The Grange Frescoes
Art and Australia Sep 1965, Sep 1965, 118 (illus.).
1965 Acquisitions 1965, 1965, 13-14.
'The extremes of Arthur Boyd' by Margaret Garlick, pg. 21-23., Dissent: a radical quarterly Spring 1964, Spring 1964, 22.
'Arthur Boyd' by Ray Matthew, pg. 38-42., London magazine Aug 1963, Aug 1963, 39.
Whitechapel Art Gallery (England) (Author), Arthur Boyd (Australia; England, b.1920, d.1999) (Author), Arthur Boyd: retrospective exhibition (1962), London, 1962. cat.no. 28
'The paintings of Arthur Boyd' by Ursula Hoff, pg. 143-147., Meanjin Jun 1958, Jun 1958, 144.
James Gleeson (Australia, b.1915, d.2008) (Author), Contemporary Australian painting, Unknown, 1956. cat.no. 5, lent by the artist
'Arthur Boyd: a personal reaction to his painting and career' by John Reed, pg. 29-32., Ern Malley's journal Nov 1954, Nov 1954, 31.
Laurence Thomas (Author), Arts Council of Great Britain, Welsh Committee (Wales) (Compilator), Twelve Australian artists, London, 1953, 16. cat.no. 33
'On three paintings by Arthur Boyd' by F.A.Philipp, pg. 9-14., Present opinion 1947, 1947, 11 (illus.).
'Emotional art in exhibition'., Daily telegraph and daily news 13 Nov 1946, 13 Nov 1946, unknown. Review of Eighth Interstate Exhibition of the CAS.
'Contemporary art more conservative' by Our Art Critic, pg 5., The Sydney Morning Herald 12 Nov 1946, 12 Nov 1946, unknown. Review of Eighth Interstate Exhibition of the CAS.
- Exhibition history (26)
-
Contemporary Art Society Eighth Annual Interstate Exhibition (1946), Vickery's Galleries, 12 Nov 1946–28 Nov 1946.
Arthur Boyd (1950), David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 04 Sep 1950–16 Sep 1950.
Twelve Australian Artists, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, 05 Sep 1953–26 Sep 1953.
Twelve Australian Artists, City of Bradford Art Gallery, 03 Oct 1953–24 Oct 1953.
Twelve Australian Artists, Derby Art Gallery, 05 Dec 1953–26 Dec 1953.
Twelve Australian Artists, City Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, 02 Jan 1954–23 Jan 1954.
Twelve Australian Artists, City of Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, 30 Jan 1954–20 Feb 1954.
Twelve Australian Artists, New Burlington Galleries, 12 Jul 1954–22 Aug 1954.
Contemporary Australian Painting - Pacific Loan Exhibition (1956), Orient Lines, S.S. "Orcades", 02 Oct 1956–25 Oct 1956.
Contemporary Australian Painting - Pacific Loan Exhibition (1956), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 Nov 1956–02 Dec 1956.
Arthur Boyd: Allegorical paintings (1958), Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 22 Apr 1958–05 May 1958.
Arthur Boyd retrospective (1962), Whitechapel Art Gallery, Jun 1962–Jul 1962.
Arthur Boyd retrospective exhibition (1964), Art Gallery of South Australia, 07 Mar 1964–21 Mar 1964.
Arthur Boyd retrospective (1964), Museum of Modern Art and Design, 05 May 1964–28 May 1964.
Aspects of Australian Figurative Painting 1942-1962: Dreams, Fears and Desires (The 5th Biennale of Sydney), S.H. Ervin Gallery, 11 Apr 1984–17 Jun 1984.
Angry Penguins and Realist Painting in Melbourne in the 1940s, Hayward Gallery, 19 May 1988–14 Aug 1988.
Angry Penguins and Realist Painting in Melbourne in the 1940s, Tate Liverpool, 05 Oct 1988–27 Nov 1988.
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.
O Soul O Spirit O Fire: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Blake Prize for Religious Art, Queensland University of Technology, 23 Nov 2001–24 Feb 2002.
The Murrumbeena Boyds, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, 19 Oct 2006–05 Nov 2006.
Australian modern masterpieces from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, 05 Oct 2011–27 Nov 2011.
Australian modern masterpieces from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 10 Dec 2011–04 Mar 2012.
