Ep 98: Wayne Tunnicliffe, curator of ‘Streeton’

In the late 19th century, impressionism swept through the art world. In Australia, a group of young artists embraced the new movement – they would meet in artist’s camps and paint en plein air. Among them was a young Arthur Streeton who would in due course become one of Australia’s most loved and respected artists.  

Wayne Tunnicliffe has curated an outstanding retrospective of Streeton’s work. Wayne is Head Curator of Australian art at the Art Gallery of NSW, and the retrospective gathers together over 150 of Streeton’s works, some not seen in public in over 100 years. This is Streeton as he has never been seen before.

Wayne had the idea for the exhibition when he was curatorial adviser to an exhibition of Australian impressionists at the National Gallery in London. It was clear to him that Streeton stood out as the most significant landscape painter in the group.

It makes sense that this retrospective is held at the Art Gallery of NSW. Not only does the Gallery have the largest collection of Streetons anywhere in the world, but they started buying his work in 1890 when he was an emerging artist at only 23 years of age. 

In this episode we explore Streeton’s life: his early years, his meeting some of the key figures in Australian art, his experience of life in London and during WWI, and his later years back in Australia. We also dig deep into a couple of the works with Wayne providing some fascinating insights.

To hear the interview press ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo. You can see images of the works we talk about below.

Streeton opens at the Art Gallery of NSW on 7 November 2020 and runs until 14 February 2021. To purchase tickets to the exhibition click here.