Collection
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Title
Pyrmont and city
1992
Artist
Kevin Connor
Australia
1932 -
About
'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.
This work won the Dobell Prize for Drawing in 1993 and was acquired by the Gallery in 1993.
Details
Other Title
Pyrmont and the city
Date
1992
Materials used
brush and black ink, white gouache on thick white wove paper
Dimensions
104.0 x 132.8 cm sheet ; 125.5 x 155.5 x 5.7 cm frame
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
Location
Not on display
Accession number
104.1993
URL / Share
Kevin Connor
Pyrmont and city
Shown in 8 exhibitions
Exhibition history
Kevin Connor: recent work (1992), Australian Galleries, Sydney, Paddington, 19 Oct 1992–07 Nov 1992
Dobell Prize for Drawing 1993, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 03 Apr 1993–09 May 1993
Great gifts, great patrons, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 Aug 1994–19 Oct 1994
Expressive figuration: drawings by Kevin Connor, Pam Hallandal and Jan Senbergs:
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 14 Dec 1996–02 Feb 1997
- Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, Perth 18 Apr 1997–01 Jun 1997
- Albury Regional Gallery, Albury 23 Jan 1998–01 Mar 1998
Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 Dec 1997–15 Mar 1998
Dobell Drawing Prize 1998 (Touring show):
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 14 Mar 1998–19 Apr 1998
- The George Adams Gallery, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne 24 Jul 1998–06 Sep 1998
Dobell Prize for Drawing: the first ten years, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 12 Sep 2004–30 Nov 2004
Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 Years of the Dobell Drawing Prize:
- Grafton Regional Gallery 15 Feb 2013–24 Mar 2013
- Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Booragul 30 Mar 2013–05 May 2013
- Orange Regional Gallery, Orange 05 Jul 2013–18 Aug 2013
- National Art School, Darlinghurst 29 Aug 2013–06 Oct 2013
- Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre, Murwillumbah 18 Oct 2013–24 Nov 2013
- Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra 11 Apr 2014–18 May 2014
Referenced in 13 publications
Bibliography
Peter Cochrane, The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Art prizes’ short lists announced’, pg. 8, Sydney, 27 Apr 1993, 8.
Elizabeth Fortescue, Daily Telegraph Mirror, ‘Prize drawings on the quirks of fate’, pg. 26, Sydney, 24 Apr 1993, 26.
Hendrik Kolenberg, The Dobell Prize for Drawing: 1993-2004, ‘Introduction: the first ten years’, pg. 8-9, Sydney, 2004, 8 (colour illus., detail), 9, 16, 17 (colour illus.), 51.
Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, 'Drawing a winner: a decade of Dobell prizes shows us how and why', pg. 24-27, Sydney, Aug 2003, front cover (colour illus.), 7 (colour illus.), 24.
Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, 'Drawing the spotlight', pg. 18-19, Sydney, Jun 2002, 18 (colour illus.).
Hendrik Kolenberg, Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 years of the Dobell Prize for Drawing, ‘Introduction’, pg. 6-14, Sydney, 2012, 6, 20, 21 (colour illus.), 60.
Hendrik Kolenberg, Australian watercolours 1880s to 1990s, 'Introduction: painting in watercolour', pg. 8-16, Sydney, 1995, 11.
Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, ‘The first Dobell Prize for Drawing’, pg. 23, Heidelberg, Jun 1993, 23 (colour illus.).
Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, 'A fine harvest of drawings: legacy of an exceptional draughtsman', pg. 28-31, Sydney, Nov 2011, 29.
Elwyn Lynn, The Weekend Australian, ‘Entries timid, unresolved except in a few cases’, pg. 4, Canberra, 03 Apr 1993, 3-4.
Elwyn Lynn, The Weekend Australian, ‘Colourless prizes…without surprises’, pg. 13, Sydney, 10 Apr 1993, 13. weekend review supplement
Judith Wright, Look, 'Drawing at its best', pg. 15, Melbourne, Mar 1999, 15 (colour illus.).
Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, ‘The drawings’, pg. 17-142, Sydney, 1997, 109 (colour illus.). cat.no. 103