The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a focus exhibition of captivating portraits by renowned artist Arthur Boyd, titled Mysterious eyes: Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945.
Consisting of nine works, the evocative display brings together a collection of portraits of individuals close to Boyd. Painted when he was 25, these portraits show how his treatment of the subjects reflected his own state of mind.
Senior Curator at the Portrait Gallery, Dr Christopher Chapman, felt inspired by this period in Boyd’s life when his paintings expressed his deep psychological feelings.
‘In these portraits painted by Arthur Boyd, the eyes suggest deep emotional feelings – whether they stare out at you and I, or glance away. In young Arthur’s self-portrait his furrowed brow and steady glare convey his determined and serious look at the world,’ said Christopher.
‘At age 25 Arthur made a series of expressionist-styled portraits of those around him. The portraits are perceptive of their subject’s character and a strong reflection of Arthur’s own view of others as individuals with intense and complex feelings.
‘The Gallery owns three portraits from this time which provided a great opportunity to show these works with others from the National Gallery and Bundanon Trust together as a survey of how Arthur viewed himself and others – as a young man.’
The exhibition includes five works from the National Gallery of Australia and one from Bundanon Trust.
Mysterious eyes will be on display in Gallery One until 14 August 2016.
For interviews or images from the exhibition please contact:
Diane Morris
Assistant Manager, Marketing and Communications
02 6102 7080 / 0408 491 545
diane.morris@npg.gov.au
