A Portrait of the Gold Coast: the art of Betty Quelhurst is an important retrospective of one of the Gold Coast's most long standing artists, presented by Gold Coast City Art Gallery.
In the 1940s Betty Quelhurst was awarded the Wattle League's Travelling Scholarship alongside Margaret Olley and Margaret Cilento whereby she studied at the National Gallery School under Sir William Dargie, (1948-49). She went on to study at La Grande Chaumiere in Paris (1952-53).
The time spent in Paris left a lasting impression on Quelhurst. Her genre scenes of people enjoying leisure time by the beach or in parks are filled with the air of Parisian street life. Her art is also a wonderful document of the Gold Coast when tourism was in its infancy. Artworks such as The melon eaters, Uncle Toms Cabin, 1955 and Windbreaks, Surfers 1961 depict relaxed, informal holidaymakers, far removed from the gritty southern cities or harsh outback life of Albert Tucker and Russell Drysdale.
A Portrait of the Gold Coast: the art of Betty Quelhurst will be a fitting tribute to an artist far too long hidden away from the public eye.
To celebrate this important exhibition, Gold Coast City Art Gallery is producing a 32 page limited edition catalogue.
The exhibition will include 68 works by the artist from early scenes of the Gold Coast and Brisbane, sketches from her travels in Europe and her Archibald Prize entry, a painting not seen by the artist for almost 50 years.
A Portrait of the Gold Coast: the art of Betty Quelhurst will be officially opened by Professor Ken Moores, Vice Chancellor, Bond University, on Saturday 30 June at 2 pm.
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