Ethel Carrick

A striking retrospective catalog

This publication explores and celebrates a remarkable artist who contributed significantly to Australian and international art for over fifty years. Carrick’s work radiates with luminous light, color, and energy, predominantly focusing on crowds in all their diversity and interconnection. Ethel Carrick is published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name, the first retrospective of her work in over forty years--the most comprehensive to date--and will shine new light on her life and works.

A truly transnational artist, Carrick (1872-1952) was born in Britain and lived and worked primarily in France and Australia. She was one of the first postimpressionist artists to exhibit in Australia, and yet her significant artistic contributions and amazing life story are not known to a wide audience.

Deborah Hart passionately guides the reader through an absorbing, thorough, and richly visual exploration of Carrick’s life and art. Seven focus essays by expert contributors cover such diverse topics as Carrick’s affectionate and iconic portrayals of Manly Beach and the modern surfer girl, her North African travels, and her remarkable artistic records and philanthropy during World War II. New research illuminates an artist who has been too long overshadowed.

Bursting with the vibrant color that so characterizes her work, this gorgeous, oversize, and generously illustrated volume is designed with Carrickesque modernity. Large reproductions and details of paintings allow the reader to appreciate these stunning works to full effect.

Deborah Hart is Head Curator, Australian Art, at the National Gallery of Australia