Emma Kindred on Ethel Carrick in North Africa
Emma Kindred, Ethel Carrick exhibition, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2024. Photographer: Kerrie Brewer.
‘[t]he light in Australia reminds me of North Africa more than any other country I [have] ever been in’
Join art historian and curator, Emma Kindred, for a talk focused on how travel in North Africa influenced the work of artist Ethel Carrick (1872–1952).
In 1911, Ethel Carrick made her first journey through North Africa with her husband Emanuel Phillips Fox. Carrick believed travel and the process of painting en plein air were vital to her practice. During her trip, she sought out light in the landscape, capturing the brilliance and colour of the places and people she encountered. In the winter of 1919–20, four years after the death of her husband, Carrick returned to North Africa, this time visiting Kairouan, the famous holy city of Tunisia.
In this talk, Emma will share how Carrick’s experiences painting the sun-bleached landscapes, clustered architecture and vibrant crowds of the Maghreb region helped her to develop a visual language—bold and unflinching—that continued to find shape throughout her career.
Dr Emma Kindred is an art historian and curator. She is Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, Kamberri/Canberra and Honorary Research Associate at the National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra (where she was previously a curator). She is also an Honorary Research Fellow in Art History at University of Sydney, Gadigal Nura/Sydney. Her areas of specialisation are Australian art histories, artists as travellers, fashion in art and the use of decolonising methodologies in the museum and gallery context.
Friday Art Talks is a free weekly program. Hear from artists, curators and experts on the works in our collection and exhibition program. This talk is part of a series focused on the major exhibitions Ethel Carrick and Anne Dangar on display in Gallery 12 until the 27 April 2025.
Accessibility
We are committed to making our collections, exhibitions, building and events accessible to all visitors. A range of services are available to facilitate your visit to the Gallery.
Information to help you plan your visit is available on the National Gallery website.
This program is wheelchair accessible. Mobility aids, such as motorised scooters, wheelchairs, and wheelie walkers are available on request from the information desk. Call +61 2 6240 6411 or email information@nga.gov.au to book a motorised scooter in advance.
Headphones will be available for attendees who are hard of hearing.
