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Vida Lahey / Australia 1882–1968 / Art and nature 1934 / Watercolour over pencil on cardboard / 52.5 x 60.6cm / Gift of the Queensland Art Fund 1950 in memory of Miss Madge Roe (1891–1938) / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA
Vida LaheyArt and nature 1934
Not Currently on Display
Art and nature is an accomplished mid-career work and one of Vida Lahey’s most complex still-life paintings. By depicting a classical plaster bas-relief by sculptor Daphne Mayo beside a book on Matisse and a jug of bold orange Mexican sunflowers, Lahey explores the clash between the traditional and the modern. The compositional swirl encloses these elements, pointing to Lahey’s belief that all genuine art speaks to other forms of art.
The painting is carried out in an exploration of the ‘white on white’ technique used to such good effect by Manet and other French painters, and several late nineteenth century Australian artists.
Vida Lahey was born at Pimpama, near the Gold Coast, Queensland. Her first known paintings date from 1902. She studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in Melbourne under Frederick McCubbin and Bernard Hall, and privately with Walter Withers. She also studied in Europe, but always returned to Brisbane where she lived and painted for most of her life.
Lahey was one of a new breed of artist — the trained professional who superseded the Victorian tradition of the genteel lady amateur. She exhibited more than 2000 paintings in about 200 exhibitions, many of them interstate and overseas.
Lahey advocated creative development as a priority in art education and was a pioneer of art education for children. Thousands of Queenslanders owe their art education to this dynamic woman, from her time teaching at the Brisbane High School for Girls (now Somerville House), her private tuition and classes at the Queensland Art Gallery, and her public lectures and broadcasts.