ISSUE 117 | 16 February 2009 | nga.gov.au/whatson

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Visit the website—nga.gov.au/degas

Australia’s first ever exhibition of works by French artist Edgar Degas (1834–1917) is now showing at the National Gallery of Australia, and is exclusive to Canberra.

The exhibition includes more than 120 paintings, drawings, sculptures, monotypes, prints, and photographs drawn from 45 collections from all over the world. Works are drawn from prestigious galleries such as the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Wa shington, DC.

Degas was an innovator in depicting images of everyday life in Paris. Many of the works exhibited focus on Degas’ favourite subject matter—the ballet, behind-the-scenes views at the opera, the racetrack, café-concerts, laundresses and women bathing.

Exhibition hours
10.00 am – 5.00 pm daily
plus Saturday evening 5.00–7.00 pm (13 December 2008 – 14 March 2009)

Admission prices
Adult $20; members/concession $15; children $6*;
family $45; season adult $60
*Children’s prices apply to 6–16 year olds (under 6 free)

(above) Clementine-Hélène Dufau  The sling 1898 (detail) National Gallery of Australia, Canberra  Gift of Orde Poynton Esq, AO, CMG, 1993
part of Degas' world: the rage for change

 

Archives dancing
Tuesday 17 February 12.45 pm
Jennifer Coombes, Special Collections Archivist, talks about the Research Library’s collection relating to ballet and dancing, including the archives and ephemera of Helene Kirsova, Elaine Haxton and Loudon Sainthill.
Free | Small Theatre

Movie night: The red shoes
Tuesday 17 February 5.00–7.30 pm
35 mm, 1948, M, 134 mins
In the tradition of Degas’ ballerinas, enjoy a screening of The red shoes, starring prima ballerina Moira Shearer. Evening commences with light refreshments.
$10; $5 members | bookings essential | James O Fairfax theatre

Director’s view: Degas and spontaneity
Thursday 19 February 12.45 pm
Ron Radford, AM, Director, National Gallery of Australia,
discusses the world and work of Edgar Degas.
Free | James O Fairfax Theatre

Young members evening
Thursday 19 February 5.30 pm
Simeran Maxwell, Exhibition Assistant, gives a youthful
perspective on the exhibition, followed by a glass of wine.
$35; $25 members | bookings essential | Exhibition Galleries and Members Lounge

Sign-interpreted tour
Saturday 21 Feburary 5.30 pm
Auslan sign-interpreted tour introducing the exhibition.
Free | bookings essential (02) 6240 6519 | meet in Gallery foyer

Sunset sessions—Flute and classical guitar performance
Saturday 21 Feburary 5.30–6.45 pm
ANU School of Music alumnus Rebecca Timoney and PhD candidate Harold Gretton present a mixed program of works for flute and classical guitar. Including tangos by Astor Piazzolla, rags by Elena Kats-Chernin, as well as many other beautiful works from around the globe, it is a concert that is sure to delight and enthrall.
Free | Exhibition Galleries foyer

Degas’ techniques
Tuesday 24 February 12.45 pm
Anthea Callen, independent scholar and Emeritus Professor of Visual Culture, University of Nottingham, UK, discusses Degas’ painting materials and techniques.
Free | James O Fairfax Theatre

Sunset sessions—Brew Guitar Duo
Saturday 28 Feburary 5.30–6.45 pm
The Brew Guitar Duo, Matthew Withers and Bradley Kunda, present an evening of fine music including contemporary Australian compositions, 19th–century French works, and the premiering of a composition written by performer Bradley Kunda inspired by one of the works of the exhibition.
Free | Exhibition Galleries foyer

(above) Edgar Degas  At the races in the countryside (Carriage at the races) (detail) 1869  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Photograph © 2008 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
part of Degas: master of French art

Degas' world: the rage for change
nga.gov.au/degasworld

23 January – 3 May 2009

Degas’ world: the rage for change, is a complementary exhibition to the international blockbuster Degas: master of French art at the National Gallery of Australia. The exhibition showcases Edgar Degas’ contemporaries and the world that they inhabited, a world in the throes of social and economic change.

Featuring prints from the National Gallery of Australia’s very distinguished International Print collection, Degas’ world includes works by some of the late nineteenth century’s most famous artists: Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Mary Cassatt, Paul Signac and Pierre Bonnard among others. These artists also exhibited in the revolutionary Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886 of which Degas was a key instigator. In addition, some of their most influential precursors, such as Camille Corot and Honoré Daumier, are highlighted.

 

Degas' world: towards the modern?
Thursday 26 February 12.45 pm
Mark Henshaw, exhibition curator, discusses Degas and his contemporaries as catalysts for artistic change at the end of the 19th century.
Free | Orde Poynton Gallery

Exhibition floortalk — Degas' world: the rage for change
Thursday 26 February 6.00 pm
Mark Henshaw, exhibition curator, leads a fascinating tour
through this exhibition of prints by Degas’ contemporaries,
followed by a cocktail reception.
$35 members and their guests | bookings essential
Orde Poynton Gallery and Members Lounge

(above)Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen  Paris by night 1903 (detail)  National Gallery of Australia, Canberra   Felix Man Collection, Special Government Grant 1972
part of Degas' world: the rage for change
more detail

Gallery events

Qantas Lecture 2009 — Axel Rüger,
Director, Van Gogh Museum,
Amsterdam
Wednesday 18 February 6.00 pm
Axel Rüger (born in 1968 in Dortmund, Germany) has been Director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam since April 2006. He has worked in several museums including a seven-year term as Curator of Dutch Paintings 1600–1800 at the National Gallery, London. There, he curated the exhibitions Vermeer and the Delft School (2001) and Aelbert Cuyp (2002).
His publications include: Vermeer and painting in Delft (2001) and Art in the making: Rembrandt (with David Bomford and Ashok Roy, 1988, revised edn 2007).
$20; $15 members | bookings essential | James O Fairfax Theatre

Misty moderns — Curator's perspective
Friday 20 February 12.45 pm
Tracey Lock-Weir, Curator, Australian Paintings and
Sculpture, Art Gallery of South Australia, and exhibition
curator, presents an insightful walkthrough of the exhibition.
Free | Project Gallery

Courbet on display
Saturday 21 February 2.00 pm
Christine Dixon, Senior Curator, International Painting and
Sculpture, discusses the works of Gustave Courbet currently on display.
Free | International Galleries

Summer Sundays art club II
Sunday 22 February 3.00–4.30 pm
MEMBERS
Niki van den Heuvel, Exhibition Assistant, gives a talk on
works of art in the Asian galleries, followed by a glass of
sparkling wine.
$5; free for members | bookings essential | Asian galleries and Members Lounge

Heritage of modern Japanese architecture: Tange's DNA
Tuesday 24 February 5.30 pm
Paul Noritaka Tange, architect and president of Tange Associates, will deliver a lecture about the legacy of his father, Kenzo Tange, one of Japan’s most honoured architects. Kenzo Tange was a teacher, writer, architect and urban planner, revered not only for his own work but also for his influence on many architects today. The lecture will discuss the works of Kenzo Tange and his influence on modern Japanese architecture. Presented in association with the Embassy of Japan and supported by the National Federation of Australia Japan Societies
Free | No booking required | James O Fairfax Theatre

A Troubled Landscape: Climate Change and
Australian Identity forum
Wednesday 25 February 4.30–7.30 pm
In conjunction with the Gallery’s travelling exhibition Ocean to Outback. Chaired by Peter Haynes, Director of ACT Museums and Galleries. Participants include artist Mandy Martin, author Libby Robin and grazier Peter Andrews (as seen on ABC’s Australian story). Includes refreshments and exhibition viewing.
$15; $12 members | bookings essential (02) 6207 3968
Canberra Museum and Gallery

 

(above) Jeffrey Smart  Wallaroo  c 1951 (detail)  oil on plywood  National Gallery of Australia, Canberra  © Jeffrey Smart
part of the travelling exhibition Ocean to Outback

Gallery information

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