Exhibition

Simple Wonders: Exhibition of the Paintings from the Collection of Andrew Johns Part Twelve: Roland Wakelin and Paul Haggith

Anne Newman, Andrew

• 3 min read
Some time back Andrew and I introduced you to the Australian artist Roland Shakespeare Wakelin (1887-1971) in an earlier post. Wakelin was a central figure in the group of early experimental artists who were crucial to the development of modernism in Australian art during the early 20th century.

There are two Roland Wakelin paintings in the Simple Wonders exhibition - Family out at Richmond Park and Harbour Foreshore. To get a full description of the paintings and learn more about Roland Wakelin please click on the caption for the images as shown below.

Roland Wakelin Left: Family out at Richmond Park 23 x 31 Right: Harbour Foreshore 25 x 33 (Painting Collection of Andrew from the Hunter Valley, NSW)

Also included in the Simple Wonders exhibition is a Paul Haggith painting titled Ocean View Newcastle.

"Haggith asks us to contemplate the shapes and coincidences of the compositions as swathes of colour and line and to doubt the veracity of the image- it's here, in their transformation into the remarkable that the pictures really take off"1

Ocean View Newcastle 22.5 x 15 by Paul Haggith (Painting Collection of Andrew from the Hunter Valley, NSW)

Paul Haggith is a contemporary realist painter whose work is based on water, landscape, figurative and cityscape themes. He has also accomplished many murals both in Australia and overseas. Paul was shortlisted for the 2007 Wynne Prize for Australian Landscape Painting at the Art Gallery Of NSW for his painting "The Rising Tide".2

Paul was also selected to hang in the 2009 and 2010 Wynne Prizes and the 2014 Sulman prize at the Art Gallery of NSW plus many others and a number of awards including winner of the Art in the Open 2011. Outside of the studio Paul does many Plein Air works which are finished in one session, outdoors, from life.2

We are going to conclude today's post with a delightful little painting titled Ready, Set, Go but unfortunately the artist is unknown.

The painting has been included in the Simple Wonders exhibition because it does represent the basic hunting instinct from the animal world which our ancestors relied on for their survival. But this artist has painted an idyllic background and conveyed the impression that this is a win-win situation for everyone. The Beagle instinctively has enjoyed the chase but having no doubt rushed up to grab a goose is now a little confused as what to do next! And the geese waited until the last moment before taking off (knowing their superior strength) so as to taunt the little canine creature. A simple wonder beautifully captured.

If anyone recognises the painting please let us know so that we can include the artist's name.

Ready, Set, Go Artist Unknown (Painting Collection of Andrew from the Hunter Valley, NSW)

Tomorrow, you will see the last post showcasing the paintinga in the Simple Wonders exhibition held at the Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre from 23 August to 3 November 2024. Please use the search tool at the top of the post with the key words Simple Wonders to locate the previous posts.

‘All artwork images © the artists. All Simple Wonders exhibition images used with permission of Singleton Arts + Cultural Centre.’

Credit
1. Andrew Frost: The Art Life
2. paulhaggith.com

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