Sydney Moderns

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.