Eileen MAYO<br/> <em>Woman and siamese cat</em> 1952 <!-- (recto) --><br /> colour lithograph<br /> 28.0 x 34.0 cm irreg. (imgae) 34.6 x 43.8 cm (sheet)<br /> ed. 20/20<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased, 1956<br /> 3394-4<br /> © Dr Jillian Cassidy <!--29762-->
Letters from the Director

Creature comforts

Dear friends,

Across time and cultures, animals have provided us with great companionship. For many of us, this couldn’t be truer of recent time at home spent with cats lounging on windowsills, birdsong waking us in the morning and puppies sprawled across our feet as we work from home.

This week, I thought I’d share a few beloved creatures from the NGV Collection.

A closeness between pet and owner that will be familiar to many can be felt in the prints of Eileen Mayo. Woman with siamese cat pictured above, showcases Mayo’s ability to closely observe animal behaviour and to capture their personalities in her art. Mayo attended London’s Slade School of Art where she was taught by Claude Flight, an artist who had a huge influence on modern British art. She emigrated from England in 1952 and taught printmaking in Sydney, making an impact during the 50s and 60s printmaking revival in Australia. Mayo adored animals, and in particular cats, depicting them in many of her artworks such as this linocut. She went on to illustrate a book of stories on cats, and after settling in New Zealand continued to design many stamps and posters featuring native animals.

A closeness between pet and owner that will be familiar to many can be felt in the prints of Eileen Mayo. Woman with siamese cat pictured above, showcases Mayo’s ability to closely observe animal behaviour and to capture their personalities in her art. Mayo attended London’s Slade School of Art where she was taught by Claude Flight, an artist who had a huge influence on modern British art. She emigrated from England in 1952 and taught printmaking in Sydney, making an impact during the 50s and 60s printmaking revival in Australia. Mayo adored animals, and in particular cats, depicting them in many of her artworks such as this linocut. She went on to illustrate a book of stories on cats, and after settling in New Zealand continued to design many stamps and posters featuring native animals.

Grace Cossington Smith’s Quaker girl depicts an equally intimate portrait of a woman – her sister Madge – and their cat. Cossington Smith was a quiet young woman from a well-to-do and conservative background. In the 1910s and 1920s, however, she was at the vanguard of the modern movement in Australia, creating images which were considered ‘ultra-modern’. After initial art studies with Antonio Datillio Rubbo in Sydney, she travelled to England and Germany with her family and on her return began painting in earnest while resuming her art studies. Cossington Smith’s early paintings focused on her immediate surroundings, and Madge was often depicted engaged in domestic or leisurely activities.

Grace Cossington Smith’s Quaker girl depicts an equally intimate portrait of a woman – her sister Madge – and their cat. Cossington Smith was a quiet young woman from a well-to-do and conservative background. In the 1910s and 1920s, however, she was at the vanguard of the modern movement in Australia, creating images which were considered ‘ultra-modern’. After initial art studies with Antonio Datillio Rubbo in Sydney, she travelled to England and Germany with her family and on her return began painting in earnest while resuming her art studies. Cossington Smith’s early paintings focused on her immediate surroundings, and Madge was often depicted engaged in domestic or leisurely activities.

A rare Australian Art Nouveau vase by ceramic decorator and china painter Elza Josephson has recently entered the NGV Collection. Josephson worked as a painter, writer and illustrator; however, it is her relatively short but active career as a ceramic decorator in Sydney between 1910–16 for which she is best known. This vase is deftly painted with a highly-stylised design of black cats playing amongst bulrushes and taunting a mouse in the process. Using a reduced palette of greens and black in flat blocks of colour, the design reveals clear influences from Japanese art. The scene, which sits somewhere between ground level and eye level with the cats, creates an ambiguous perspective for the viewer: we feel we are in the bulrushes as well, unable to see the horizon line. A beautiful detail hidden under the base of the vase is Josephson’s monogram which comprises of two sitting cats whose tails hang down and curl into her initials, EJ.

A rare Australian Art Nouveau vase by ceramic decorator and china painter Elza Josephson has recently entered the NGV Collection. Josephson worked as a painter, writer and illustrator; however, it is her relatively short but active career as a ceramic decorator in Sydney between 1910–16 for which she is best known. This vase is deftly painted with a highly-stylised design of black cats playing amongst bulrushes and taunting a mouse in the process. Using a reduced palette of greens and black in flat blocks of colour, the design reveals clear influences from Japanese art. The scene, which sits somewhere between ground level and eye level with the cats, creates an ambiguous perspective for the viewer: we feel we are in the bulrushes as well, unable to see the horizon line. A beautiful detail hidden under the base of the vase is Josephson’s monogram which comprises of two sitting cats whose tails hang down and curl into her initials, EJ.

We can see similar elements of Japanese design in the Art Deco depictions of these flying fish. This beautifully crafted bronze vase with small half ring handles features two stylised flying fish, waves and clouds set in a round window. During the first half of the twentieth century, flying fish became a popular symbol in Japan. Their shimmering, streamlined bodies and effortless ability to both glide through water and soar through air saw them often used as symbols of power, progress and modernity.

We can see similar elements of Japanese design in the Art Deco depictions of these flying fish. This beautifully crafted bronze vase with small half ring handles features two stylised flying fish, waves and clouds set in a round window. During the first half of the twentieth century, flying fish became a popular symbol in Japan. Their shimmering, streamlined bodies and effortless ability to both glide through water and soar through air saw them often used as symbols of power, progress and modernity.

These bronze sculptures of puppies display the long and skilled tradition of Japanese bronzeware manufacture, portraying playful ideas of ‘cute’. Dogs are animals of the Japanese and Chinese zodiac calendars, and so became popular themes in Japanese art during the Edo period. The simplicity and sophistication of Japanese design during the Modernist era is illustrated here by the puppies’ solid rounded forms, contrasted with their innocent, delicately rendered expressions.

These bronze sculptures of puppies display the long and skilled tradition of Japanese bronzeware manufacture, portraying playful ideas of ‘cute’. Dogs are animals of the Japanese and Chinese zodiac calendars, and so became popular themes in Japanese art during the Edo period. The simplicity and sophistication of Japanese design during the Modernist era is illustrated here by the puppies’ solid rounded forms, contrasted with their innocent, delicately rendered expressions.

Unlike these docile dogs, Vernon Marbendina’s Ku is alert and energised. The NGV has a wonderful collection of painted carvings from Aurukun in Far North Queensland. Many different artists from this community sculpt Ku (camp dogs) with each rendering different sizes, poses and facial expressions. Marbendina’s Ku portrays a dog from his community named Mr Lion. The Ku is also connected to a story of transformation that involves the Dingo, and which links the land with the sea. It is understood that when the Dingo left the land and entered the river or the sea, he became Nyiingkuchen, the Freshwater Shark.

Unlike these docile dogs, Vernon Marbendina’s Ku is alert and energised. The NGV has a wonderful collection of painted carvings from Aurukun in Far North Queensland. Many different artists from this community sculpt Ku (camp dogs) with each rendering different sizes, poses and facial expressions. Marbendina’s Ku portrays a dog from his community named Mr Lion. The Ku is also connected to a story of transformation that involves the Dingo, and which links the land with the sea. It is understood that when the Dingo left the land and entered the river or the sea, he became Nyiingkuchen, the Freshwater Shark.

Trevor ‘Turbo’ Brown was a Latje Latje man who grew up in Mildura. Animals feature heavily in his work, as seen in this painting filled with the birds that live at the lake at RMIT Bundoora where Brown studied art. Brown spent most of his young life homeless. When asked why he painted animals, he said that when he was a teenager living on the streets of Mildura and along the banks of the Murray River, animals were his only friends. Brown’s works are filled with colour and movement from which we can sense his deep connection with the animals that surrounded him.

Trevor ‘Turbo’ Brown was a Latje Latje man who grew up in Mildura. Animals feature heavily in his work, as seen in this painting filled with the birds that live at the lake at RMIT Bundoora where Brown studied art. Brown spent most of his young life homeless. When asked why he painted animals, he said that when he was a teenager living on the streets of Mildura and along the banks of the Murray River, animals were his only friends. Brown’s works are filled with colour and movement from which we can sense his deep connection with the animals that surrounded him.

I hope the company of the animals that are special in your world continues to provide you with happiness and hope.

Sending you my warmest wishes,

Tony Ellwood AM
Director, National Gallery of Victoria

I hope the company of the animals that are special in your world continues to provide you with happiness and hope.

Sending you my warmest wishes,

Tony Ellwood AM
Director, National Gallery of Victoria