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Christopher Allen has been The Australian’s national art critic since 2008. He is an art historian and educator, teaching classical Greek and Latin. He has written an edited several books including Art in Australia and believes that the history of art in this country is often underestimated.

Latest

Visual Arts

Frederick STACPOOLE (engraver) English 1813–1907 William Holman HUNT (after) The Shadow of Death (1878) hand-coloured engraving 73.3 x 57.5 cm (image and plate), (73.6 x 58.5 cm) (sheet) Private collection, Melbourne From the exhibition: Medieval Moderns: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood NGV International 11 April 2015 – 12 July 2015 To be used in conjunction with exhibition only; not to be cropped, overprinted, altered; must credit

Pre-Raphaelite art mysteries

There is something deeply mysterious about art, which is no doubt why it is surrounded by so many myths.

Christopher Allen

Review

QIANLONG EMPEROR Chinese 1711–99 CHINESE (court artists) Qianlong Emperor appraising: One or two Qing dynasty, Qianlong period 1736–95 screen painting painted and signed by Qianlong Emperor in the summer of 1780 and with two seals of the Qianlong Emperor, also inscribed with poem by Qianlong Emperor coloured inks on silk 92.2 x 121.5 cm (image) The Palace Museum, Beijing (Gu6492) From the exhibition: A Golden Age of China: Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795) NGV International To be used in conjunction with exhibition only; must credit

Emperor’s treasures

This exhibition has been designed with considerable skill as a portrait of China’s Qing-dynasty ruler emperor Qianlong.

Christopher Allen

Arts

Price tag is the symbol of status

The pictures for which headline-making prices are paid are not even enjoyed by their buyers.

Christopher Allen

Review

Charles Bird King History of the Indian Tribes of North America 1836 ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London Ne-Sou-A Quoit : A Fox Chief; from History of The Indian Tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs, embellished with one hundred and twenty portraits, from the Indian Gallery in the Department of War, at Washington; by Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785 - 1859); published by E.C.Biddle; U.S.A.(Philadelphia); 1836 - 44.

Design by the book

Books have been crucial to civilisation for thousands of years, but their form has changed considerably over that time.

Christopher Allen

Human drives align to produce monster

It has done Aboriginal art no good to develop in an environment segregated from critical discussion and assessment.

Christopher Allen

Review

Corset, 1880s, English From the exhibition: Undressed: 350 years of underwear in fashion Powerhouse Museum, Sydney 28 March - 12 July 2015 An exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. To be used in conjunction with exhibition only; must credit

Size up this smalls wonder

Two exhibitions deal with the centuries-old practice of shaping and adornment of the human body.

Christopher Allen

Review

Blizzard at Cape Denison in 1912. Pic Frank Hurley courtesy of the State Library of NSW.

How the past was pictured

No significant nation’s history has been as thoroughly documented by photography as that of Australia.

Christopher Allen

Review

Trent Parke, Australia, born 1971, Fever, Dash, Adelaide, 2014, © Trent Parke/Magnum Photos From the exhibition: TRENT PARKE: THE BLACK ROSE Art Gallery of South australia until 10 May 2015 Part of the 2015 Adelaide Festival To be used in conjunction with exhibition Must credit; not to be altered in any way

The lost child

Trent Parke, who saw his mother die when he was 12, explores his past in The Black Rose at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Christopher Allen

Review

David Lynch, United States b.1946 / Face and Smoke #1 1992 / Chromogenic development print, 35.56 x 27.94cm / Courtesy: the artist / © David Lynch From the exhibition: David Lynch: Between Two Worlds Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) 14 March – 7 June 2015 To be used in conjunction with exhibition only; not to be altered; must credit

Cut to the films

David Lynch is not only a filmmaker. He was trained as a visual artist and has produced works throughout his career.

Christopher Allen

Review

James Turrell Shanta II (blue) 1970 Cross-corner construction: fluorescent light, built space Dimensions variable: 106.6cm (max height of aperture) Image: National Gallery of Australia Image must not be cropped, overprinted or manipulated in any way. Full caption must be used at all times From the exhibition: James Turrell a retrospective NGA National Gallery of Australia 13 December 2014 – 8 June 2015 To be used in conjunction with exhibition only

Let there be light

For contemporary artist James Turrell light, and our perception of it, is at the heart of his work.

Christopher Allen

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