Museum of Modern Art Australia: Difference between revisions
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The '''Museum of Modern Art Australia (MOMAA)''' was founded by Australian art patron [[John Reed (art patron)|John Reed]] in 1958 in Tavistock Place, a lane |
The '''Museum of Modern Art Australia (MOMAA)''', alternatively named the 'Museum of Modern Art of Australia', was founded by Australian [[Patronage|art patron]] [[John Reed (art patron)|John Reed]] in 1958 in Tavistock Place, a lane-way off 376 [[Flinders Street, Melbourne|Flinders Street]], Melbourne.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Palmer, Sheridan | title=Centre of the periphery : three European art historians in Melbourne | publication-date=2008 | publisher=Australian Scholarly Publishing | isbn=978-1-74097-165-2 }}</ref> It held exhibitions of important contemporary [[Australian art]] of the late 1950s and the 1960s. The Museum operated until 1966 and was formally dissolved in 1981. |
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== Background == |
== Background == |
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Revision as of 22:11, 22 July 2019
The Museum of Modern Art Australia (MOMAA), alternatively named the 'Museum of Modern Art of Australia', was founded by Australian art patron John Reed in 1958 in Tavistock Place, a lane-way off 376 Flinders Street, Melbourne.[1] It held exhibitions of important contemporary Australian art of the late 1950s and the 1960s. The Museum operated until 1966 and was formally dissolved in 1981.
Background
In July 1938 John and Sunday Reed were active in the formation of the Contemporary Art Society to promote modernist art in opposition to the prevalent conservatism of Australian art. Through the CAS John met Sidney Nolan, to whom the Reeds gave friendship and financial support, and from 1941, housing him until their estrangement in 1947 at their property, the former Bulleen dairy farm 'Heide' that they had purchased in 1934. Other artists in their circle were Albert Tucker and his wife Joy Hester, Arthur Boyd, John Perceval, Danila Vassilieff and the writer Michael Keon.
John abandoned his legal practice in 1943 and by the end of World War II he and Sunday had become the major supporters of modern art in Australia,[2] supporting several artists with regular stipends. They revived the Melbourne branch of CAS and its Gallery of Contemporary Art early in the 1950s, and their association with artists and writers—the Heidi Circle—expanded to include Charles Blackman, Barrett Reid, Laurence Hope and Mirka Mora.
The Gallery
In 1958 with the assistance of businessman, restaurateur, art dealer and close friend Georges Mora, and using their own funds, the Reeds transformed the CAS gallery, where George's wife Mirka had exhibited in August the year before,[3] into the 'Museum of Modern Art (and Design) of Australia' (MOMAA), modelled on MoMA in New York, with John as its director. Daughter of Myer Emporium director Sir Norman Myer, Pamela Warrender, whom Mora came to know through their visits to his Balzac Restaurant, became chair of the museum.[3]
Art that they had collected themselves, figurative, abstract, expressionist and realist, formed the basis of the Museum's collection and was drawn upon for some of the exhibitions held there, many of which were landmark. Peter Burns showed in 1959.[4] Albert Tucker exhibited there October 18 to November 4, 1960,[5] and in 1961 held ‘The Formative Years, 1940 – 1945’ at which important works, his Modern Evil, No. 2 (1943), Figure 6, Modern Evil, No. 6 (1944), Figure 7, Modern Evil, No. 27 (1946) and Modern Evil, No. 28, Figure 8 (1946), were displayed with other iconic works including The Futile City (1940). The Sydney Pop Art trio the 'Annandale Realists', Mike Brown, Colin Lanceley and Ross Crothall show of February 13th to March 1st 1962 was accompanied by a catalogue essay by Elwyn Lynn.[6][3]
Closure
The upstairs space in Tavistock Place off Flinders Street was small, and in the hope of accommodating larger shows and openings, the museum relocated to the Ball & Welch emporium in 1964. However, financial difficulties proved insurmountable and in April 1965 John resigned, and the Museum shut down a year later. The enterprise continued informally at Heidi while its new, modernist buildings were completed in 1967 to become Heide II which, not long before both died in ten days of each other, the Reeds sold in 1980 to the Victorian Government for the establishment of a public art museum and park, Heide Museum of Modern Art.[7] A meeting of the remaining members of the Museum of Modern Art Australia to formalise its dissolution was announced on July 27, 1981 at which its permanent was transferred to the National Gallery of Victoria [8]
References
- ^ Palmer, Sheridan (2008), Centre of the periphery : three European art historians in Melbourne, Australian Scholarly Publishing, ISBN 978-1-74097-165-2
- ^ Haese, Richard; Juan Davila collection (1981), Rebels and precursors : the revolutionary years of Australian art, Allen Lane, ISBN 978-0-7139-1362-0
- ^ a b c Harding, Lesley; Morgan, Kendrah, (author.) (2018). Mirka & Georges : a culinary affair (1st ed.). Miegunyah Press. ISBN 978-0-522-87220-0.
{{cite book}}:|author2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), p.151 - ^ Burns, Peter, 1924-; Museum of Modern Art of Australia (1959), Peter Burns : Museum of Modern Art of Australia, July 1959, The Museum
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Albert Tucker : Museum of Modern Art of Australia. Museum of Modern Art. 1900.
- ^ Lanceley, Colin, 1938-, (artist.); Brown, Mike, 1938-1997, (artist.); Crothall, Ross, 1934-, (artist.); Lynn, Elwyn, 1917-1997, (writer of added text.); Museum of Modern Art of Australia (host institution.) (1962), Annandale imitation realists : Museum of Modern Art of Australia, February 13th to March 1st, Museum of Modern Art of Australia, retrieved 22 July 2019
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Museological Consciousness". Memo Review. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
- ^ Notification by the Chairman of Council, Pam Warrender, dated 27 July, 1981, of Member's Meeting, to begin the process of of the formal dissolution of The Museum and the transfer of its permanent collection to the ownership of National Gallery of Victoria. 3 pages.Museum of Modern Art of Australia, retrieved 22 July 2019