Rosalie Gascoigne and Canberra

This Canberra Day, we invite you to support the acquisition of a major work of art for our city’s collection. 

Rosalie Gascoigne (B. Auckland 1917 – D. Canberra 1999) became one of Australia’s most revered artists and is regarded as the most significant and influential artist to have lived in Canberra. 

Until now, Canberra’s Museum + Gallery has never owned a Rosalie Gascoigne, despite her work being inseparable from this place where she learned to see the landscape so intimately. For Canberra’s civic collection, this has been a significant omission.

Gascoigne’s work is not simply associated with this place. It was made from it.

With the acquisition of Wool Clip, CMAG is beginning to address that absence. Your support helps ensure that her legacy remains visible in the city that shaped it.

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Wool Clip

Wool Clip (1995), is a luminous work shaped by the landscapes that defined her artistic voice. Constructed from weathered timber gathered across the Monaro and Lake George region referencing the region’s pastoral history, Wool Clip captures the sunscoured clarity, rhythm and restraint that characterise Gascoigne’s mature practice.

Gascoigne’s practice

Rosalie Gascoigne arrived in Canberra in 1943. She was not yet an artist. Living at Mount Stromlo, and later in Pearce, she learned to see this landscape. The vast skies. The bleached paddocks. The quiet austerity of the Monaro plains. She walked the region, gathering what others discarded. Weathered timber. Wool boards. Fragments shaped by use, sun and wind. Over time, those materials became her language.

She had her first solo exhibition at the age of 57.
In 1982 she became the first woman to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale.
Her work entered major public collections across Australia and internationally.

But it began here.

In this light.
In this air.
In this landscape.

Please, if you are able, consider making a donation to support the acquisition of Wool Clip (1995). Your gift helps us to hold and care for this vital piece of Canberra’s creative legacy for future generations. 
Donations over $2 are tax-deductible. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

You can also donate objects or artworks to our collection which may attract a tax-incentive through the Australian Cultural Gifts Program. View our page about Offers for Donations here. 

Corporate Partners
Canberra Museum and Gallery develops unique business partnerships to deliver tailored outcomes for your business and our organisation. Benefits include

• extensive and niche exposure of your company and its products;
• enhanced awareness of your company’s commitment to our region’s community and culture;
• unique entertainment and networking activities for staff or clients such as cocktail functions in our stylish, centrally located foyer; behind the scenes tours and exhibition talks by our curators;
• and hands-on staff professional development opportunities

To learn more contact Corinna Cullen, Head of Philanthropic Development on (02) 6205 5538 or Corinna.Cullen@act.gov.au