Exhibition Dates: Saturday 20 June – Sunday 13 September 2020
Sidney Nolan, Bathers, 1943, ripolin enamel on canvas, 62.9 x 75.5 cm, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, © The Sidney Nolan Trust, Bequest of John and Sunday Reed 1982
Throughout the 1940s, John and Sunday Reed’s home, Heide, formed a focal point for some of Australia’s most avant- garde artists, who rejected conventional ways of living and learning and spearheaded the modernist movement in Melbourne. This constellation of rising talent included the young Sidney Nolan, cerebral painter Albert Tucker and his partner Joy Hester, the quiet yet passionate Arthur Boyd and free-spirited John Perceval. Each developed a distinctive practice and came to hold an undisputed place in the canon of Australian art.
Such was John and Sunday’s belief in this group that they supported them financially and materially and in some instances formed close attachments to them. As poet Barrett Reid observed, the Reeds provided a ‘total concentration of life’ at Heide, which not only gave rise to unprecedented experimentation and attainment, but witnessed a drama of human relationships.
The 1940s saw the creation of many much-loved Heide icons and the selection displayed in Halcyon Days will include Ned Kelly and St Kilda images by Nolan, some of Hester’s compelling psychological portraits, and surrealist images by Tucker. In addition, a remarkable major portrait group by Boyd makes its debut, a recent donation to the Museum by the Estate of Beverly Brown.
Exhibition Curator: Kendrah Morgan
Heide Museum of Modern Art | 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen VIC 3105
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 5pm Exhibition entry is free with admission to the gallery (Adult $16/Senior $14/Concession $12/Child under 12 FREE) Member FREE