Art in Australia (complete set)

Art in Australia. Series 1, No. 1 – Series 4, No. 6 (1916 – 1942). Completes set. Series 1 (11 issues, quarto), Series 2 (2 issues, large quarto), Series 3 (80 issues, quarto), Series 4 (6 issues, large quarto). Illustrated wrappers, occasional chipping and flecking, extensively illustrated, tipped-in plates, a very good set.

The most important resource on Australian art in the first half of the twentieth century. Art in Australia was conceived by Sydney Ure Smith as a flagship for Australian painting and graphic art. The first issue was limited to 1000 copies, and was produced on a quality paper with tipped-in colour reproductions of unprecedented quality for an Australian journal at that time. Robert Holden writes ‘The magazine became a showcase of Australian printing ability and set new standards of advertising excellence … Artistic layout, quality graphic work in colour, an harmonious choice of typography and carefully worded text were all combined …’ (Cover Up, Sydney: 1995, p. 74).

For over a quarter of a century, and through its different formats, it reviewed and discussed all aspects of Australian art, exhibited in both commercial public galleries. Special issues were dedicated to Margaret Preston, Thea Proctor, Norman and Lionel Lindsay, Hans Heysen, Elioth Gruner, Will Ashton, Arthur Streeton, George Washington Lambert, Harold Herbert, the art of Etching, Bookplates, and regional special issues on Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania. Its longevity as a journal was due to its modern approach to design, with many covers being icons of art deco style in themselves. The appearance of reproductions by Sidney Nolan, and James Gleeson along with poetry by Alister Kershaw in the 1940s heralded the arrival of the Angry Penguins movement. In addition to this, many important articles by Margaret Preston on Aboriginal art along with early colour reproductions result in Art in Australia being an unrivalled resource for scholars and collectors for this period.