This treasury of Australian art created between the two world
wars sheds fascinating light on the country?s incredible artistic
growth and the flowering of modernism Down Under. The "Sydney
Moderns" who dominated the Australian scene between World Wars I
and II were at once engaging with revolutionary artistic concepts
and reflecting the mercurial modern age. This volume comprises
some 400 works by Ralph Balson, Frank and Margel Hinder, Roland
Wakelin, and others in the Australian vanguard. Arranged by
theme, the art reflects a remarkable range of styles and genres -
abstraction, landscapes, still lifes, portraits. Essays and
archival materials introduce aspects of this key era of
Australian art?a time when the city of Sydney underwent rapid
change, women achieved greater status, and the rewards and
consequences of modernization were felt by the entire nation.