Colin McCahon
The Promised Land
4 Aug – 16 Sep 1990
About
The largest exhibition of work by the pre-eminent New Zealand artist Colin McCahon to be shown outside New Zealand came to the Australian National Gallery. The exhibition will survey the artist's whole career, from the early religious pictures such as The promised land, 1948, through the landscape and word paintings such as Six days in Nelson and Canterbury, 1950, to the great 'text' paintings such as The lark's song (a poem by Matire Kareama), 1969, and Victory over death 2, 1970.
Twenty-five of the artist's major paintings borrowed from both private and institutional collections throughout New Zealand and twelve drawings and prints from the Gallery's own collection will be displayed.
The Promised Land has only be shown at the Australian National Gallery and an exhibition of this scale and importance will not be repeated for many years. This is therefore a unique opportunity to have seen such a large selection of works by New Zealand's greatest painter.