America Painting a nation - Art Gallery of NSW - Summer Exhibition 2013/2014

Charles Willson Peale: John & Elizabeth Cadwalader

The major summer exhibition of the Art Gallery of NSW for 2013/2014, America painting a nation, is promoted as the first historical survey of American painting held in Australia with many masterpieces shown here for the first time.The exhibition brings together 92 works from major artists, such as James Whistler, Edward Hopper, Mark Rothko, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock and has been brought to Sydney in collaboration with Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. In reality, this is an edited version of an exhibition which was originally chosen for audiences in South Korea.

In terms of content and masterpieces, these are thin on the ground in fact. There are three paintings by O'Keeffe and Homer; two each by Sargent, Eakins and Cassatt; and one each by Hopper, Rothko and Pollock. As Sydney Morning Herald art critic, John McDonald, observed ".....although there are some strong pictures in this group, none might be described as iconic.." He further noted that the Art Gallery of NSW would be hard pressed to sell "...a show in which most of the artists will be unknown to the vast majority of viewers...". Although this art show is thin with major art 'names' there is an impressive body of work to be seen nonetheless and the choice of works will pleasantly surprise the viewer if expectations are not set too high. The exhibition has 7 set chronological themes in which the paintings are grouped with the stronger works predominately coming from the 19th Century. The choice of paintings for the 20th Century is decidedly weaker both in number and content.

America Painting a nation  is on show until 9th February 2014.

Thomas Moran - Grand Canyon of the Colorado River