Ann Thomson (born 1933) is an Australian painter and sculptor. She is best known for her large-scale public commissions ''Ebb Tide'' (1987) for the

Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre The Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre was a convention, exhibition and entertainment complex in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Designed by Philip Cox, the complex opened in 1988 as part of an urban renewal and redevelopment of the Darling Harb ...

and ''Australia Felix'' (1992) for the Seville World Expo. In 1998 she won the rt Gallery of New South Wales' Wynne Prize. Her work is held in national and international collections, including: the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid and Villa Haiss Museum, Germany.

Early life and education

Ann Thomson was born in 1933 in Brisbane. She went to

Somerville House Somerville House is an independent, boarding and day school for girls, located in South Brisbane, an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Established in 1899 as the Brisbane High School for Girls, the School was eventually nam ...

, a private school in Brisbane also attended by

Margaret Olley Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 192326 July 2011) was an Australian painter. She was the subject of more than ninety solo exhibitions. Early life Margaret Olley was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She was the eldest of three children of Jo ...

Betty Churcher Elizabeth Ann Dewar Churcher (''née'' Cameron; 11 January 193131 March 2015) was an Australian arts administrator, best known as director of the National Gallery of Australia from 1990 to 1997. She was also a painter in her own right e ...

and art historian

Joan Kerr Joan Kerr (1938–2004) was an Australian academic and cultural preservationist. Initially her interest was sparked in preserving the architectural heritage of Australia, but over time her interests spread to art history and Australian culture ...

. After school, she took painting classes with Richard Rodier Rivron and

Jon Molvig Helge Jon Molvig (27 May 1923 – 15 May 1970) was an Australian expressionist artist, considered a major developer of 20th-century Australian expressionism, even though his career 'only' lasted 20 years. He was born in the Newcastle, New Sout ...

. In 1957, Thomson moved to Sydney where she studied at the East Sydney Technical College (now the

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts ...

), graduating in 1962. She focused on drawing, sculpture and painting. During her education, she was taught by Godfrey Miller,

John Passmore John Passmore AC (9 September 1914 – 25 July 2004) was an Australian philosopher. Life John Passmore was born on 9 September 1914 in Manly, Sydney, where he grew up. He was educated at Sydney Boys High School. Sydney High School Old B ...

John Olsen John Wayne Olsen, AO (born 7 June 1945) is a former Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, C ...

, Lyndon Dadswell, Davis Strachan and Dorothy Thornhill. While a young artist she also visited leading Australian modernist Ian Fairweather on

Bribie Island Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island i ...

, Queensland.

Career

Thomson sold her first painting through Clune Gallery, in Sydney. Her first commercial exhibition in 1965 was with

Watters Gallery Watters Gallery (1964–2018) was a private art gallery in Riley Street Sydney, Australia, run by Frank Watters (1934 – May 2020) with his business partners and friends Geoffrey and Alex Legge. It was influential and well-known, hosting exhibit ...

, Sydney, a significant venue for experimental works. In 1977, Thomson had a solo exhibition at the

Institute of Modern Art The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is a public art gallery located in the Judith Wright Arts Centre in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Fortitude Valley, which features contemporary artworks and showcases emerging artists in a series of group ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. In 1983, Thomson's work ''Pentaplain'' was a finalist in the Art Gallery of New South Wales'

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

for landscape paintings. The work is part figurative, with references to built structures, and part abstract with large areas of blue and green. It combines aerial and horizontal perspectives. 15 years later, she won the Wynne Prize with her work ''Yellow sound''. This brilliant yellow oil on canvas combines various mark-making techniques including drips, layering and erasure. Her major commission ''Australia Felix'' was the central sculptural installation for the Australian Pavilion at the 1992 World Expo in Seville. The 11-metre wide work was subsequently installed at Sydney Darling Harbour. She has also won the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize (2002), and the Tattersall's Art Prize, Brisbane (2016). In 1989, Thomson was one of 12 artists who participated in Mike Parr's ''But Now I Would Like to Speak as an Artist.'' The work involved the artists digging holes in the ground to bury their heads in for as long as possible. In 2015 she was honoured with a Fellowship by the National Art School, Sydney. NAS followed this with an exhibition titled ''Ann Thomson and Contemporaries''. The two-level gallery dedicated the upper floor to Thomson. Craig Judd favourably reviewed the exhibition, writing: "''Ann Thomson and Contemporaries'' is a richly enjoyable exhibition". It "confirms without doubt the stature of Ann Thomson within the canons of Australian abstract art as teacher, mentor and leader". In 2020, Thomson was among 500 artists calling on the Australian Government to support creatives through COVID-19. As of 2012, Thomson was painting every day, generally working on multiple canvases at once and painting from memory, rather than directly from real life. Her earlier works were aligned with

Abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

, while her later works oscillate between abstraction and figuration, taking inspiration from the landscape. Thomson says: "I don't feel as though I am totally abstract" and "I might abstract something but I don't just paint shapes". Thomson continues to exhibit, making for a career of solo exhibitions that extends beyond half a century.

Recognition and awards

*1976: David Jones Art Prize,

*1978: Visual Arts Board Grant to

Cité internationale des Arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximatel ...

, Paris *1980: Visual Arts Board Grant *1981: Winner, ''

Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' National Art Award *1984: University of New South Wales Purchase Prize *1985: ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' Art Prize *1986: John McCaughey Prize *1998:

, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney *2002: Geelong Contemporary Art Prize for ''Change Takes Time'' *2005: Kedumba Drawing Prize *2017: Tattersalls Art Prize, Brisbane.

Major exhibitions

*1965: Watters Gallery, Sydney *1973: Gallery One Eleven, Brisbane *1974:

Gallery A Gallery A was a mid-century Australian gallery that exhibited contemporary Australian art. It was established in 1959 at 60 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and then relocated to 275 Toorak Road., South Yarra. A second Gallery A venue was opened and ...

, Sydney *1977: Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane *1977:

, Sydney *1979:

, Sydney *1980: Monash University, Melbourne *1982:

, Sydney *1988: Australian Galleries, Melbourne *1989: Australian Galleries, Melbourne *1992: Australian Galleries, Sydney *1993: Australian Galleries, Melbourne, in conjunction with Meridian Sculpture Gallery *1993: Art Gallery of NSW Sculpture 'Australia Felix' *1994: Australian Galleries, Sydney

References

External links

Mitchell Fine AArt Gallery webpage

Artist Profile

Charles Nodrum Gallery

Ann Thomson QAGOMA Collection holdings

Art Gallery of NSW 'The art that made me: Ann Thomson' post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Ann Australian women artists Australian artists Living people 1933 births Artists from Brisbane Australian women painters