‘Beautiful, intimate, gorgeous, dangerous’: joint exhibition of Australian women artists in Europe

The art of Australian women artists in Europe is re-evaluated in a new exhibition by two state galleries, led by their freshly appointed directors.

Maud Page and Jason Smith, recently appointed directors of Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) and Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA). Picture: Matt Turner

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A groundbreaking joint exhibition on “dangerously modern” Australian women artists is being overseen by the freshly minted directors of two state galleries, the pair hoping to bring historically neglected artists to the fore.

The show examining Australian women artists in Europe opened on Saturday at the Art Gallery of South Australia before travelling to the Art Gallery of NSW in September.

AGSA director Jason Smith said the exhibition “resets the historical record”.

“People might think they know Australian modernism … but I suspect it will completely transform their understanding of how important Australian women were to the early phase of modernism and modern art in this country.”

AGNSW director Maud Page and AGSA director Jason Smith with a 1925 artwork by Australian painter Agnes Goodsir. Picture: Matt Turner

While some of the artists on display stayed to pursue careers in Europe, many travelled back to Australia, where their work “brought back a spirit of adventure in how art could be made, an incredible vitality and newness,” Smith said.

Director of Sydney’s AGNSW Maud Page said the exhibition “is really personal for me”. Page recalled being acquainted with the work of Australian ceramist Anne Dangar as a young girl, drinking tea from a bowl adorned with her cubist designs while just minutes away from the artist’s commune.

Page said as a student, the work of Australian women often wasn’t “considered as part of the great art history”.

“The show’s title is Dangerously Modern because it was seen as dangerous at best, and at worst was perceived as not strong or even perhaps derivative, which is such a tragedy when you see the strength of the work,” she said.

Gallery directors Maud Page and Jason Smith opened the exhibition at AGSA in Adelaide, before the show travels to Sydney in September. Picture: Matt Turner

“That’s why it’s really important [to show], and they’re just beautiful, intimate, gorgeous works.”

The exhibition, three years in the making, showcases 50 Australian women who worked in ­Europe at the turn of the 20th ­century.

Smith and Page, both recent appointees, assumed their directorships in February and March respectively. Smith previously led Geelong Art Gallery while Page was AGNSW’s deputy director from 2017.

“I am the first female director in 154 years for the Art Gallery of NSW, but there’s been so many other incredible female deputy ­directors in particular in my institution that deserved this role,” Page said.

“The timing was not there, and that’s why it’s really important that we tell these stories and that we pay close attention to the ­timing of a show like this.”