Klimt: Exotic and Erotic—Ahead of His Time

Gustav Klimt - Head of a Recumbent Man, Supporting Himself - 1886-88 - Black chalk, highlighted in white - 28 x 43 cm - Albertina, Vienna (click photo for larger image)Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau (Vienna Secession) movement. His goal was to call attention to contemporary Viennese artists and to call their attention to the much broader world of modern art. 

Klimt’s major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects, many of which are on display in the Vienna Secession gallery. “He is still remembered as one of the greatest decorative painters of the 20th century, while also producing one of the century's most significant bodies of erotic art.” But the elegant work featured here is a testament to Klimt’s draftsmanship and subtlety—two other very important characteristics that apply to his art.

Search right here on “What About Art?” to learn more about Gustav Klimt.

Janet Dawson: Archibald Prize Winner

Janet Dawson - Michael Goddy Reading - 1973 - Acrylic on Bleached Linen - 150 x 120 cm - Art Gallery NSW - Sydney, AustraliaAustralian artist Janet Dawson (born 1935) studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in Melbourne from 1952 to 1956.In 1959 Janet Dawson won the lithography prize at the Slade School of Fine Arts, London University. She had enrolled there in 1956 at the age of 21 after winning the National Gallery of Victoria Traveling Scholarship. The brashness of the contemporary art scene in London was in direct contrast to Dawson's traditional art school background. Overwhelmed, she opted to learn lithography, and her love of drawing meant there was an instant empathy with this gentle graphic medium.

She traveled to Italy where she lived and worked for some months—and abstract art began to permeate her work. At the end of 1960, Dawson returned to Melbourne and established The Gallery A Print Workshop.

In 1973, Dawson won the Archibald Prize with the piece entitled Michael Goddy Reading (a portrait of her husband, the actor and playwright Michael Boddy).

Julian Rossi Ashton: Australian Impressionism

Julian Rossi Ashton - The Gold Washer - 1889 - Oil on canvas, 213 x 117 cm - Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (click photo for larger image)Julian Rossi Ashton (1851-1942) was an Australian painter and writer. He attended the West London School of Art and, following the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, the Académie Julian in Paris. After teaching at the Art Society of New South Wales School from 1892 to 1896, he founded the Sydney Art School in 1896. It became a center of activity for aspiring young Australian artists. He continued to produce Impressionist-style portraits and landscapes throughout his life and influenced ideas of national patronage for Australian art. He encouraged government purchases and in 1913 lobbied for the foundation of the Education Department Gallery in Sydney.