A History of Aboriginal Art in the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Dr. Vanessa Russ, University of Western Australia, Australia

Dr. Russ was the first Aboriginal director of the Berndt Museum of Anthropology in its 40-year history at the University of Western Australia. Born and raised in the Kimberley Region in north-west Western Australia with family connections to Ngarinyin and Gija people. She has been investigating the role of art history, colonization, and Aboriginal art for over a decade.

Join Dr. Vanessa Russ as she previews her upcoming book, A History of Aboriginal Art in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, to be published by Routledge in 2021.  Vanessa will examine the gradual invention of Aboriginal art within the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, AU). As art history shifts through social histories of Australia and the recognition of Aboriginal people, through wars and political shifts, through international influence and pressure to diversify collections, Dr. Russ examines state art institutions in Australia and the single history of Aboriginal art from early colonization until today.

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Image credit: Muŋgurrawuy Yunupiŋu. Lany'tjung- Banaidja Story,1960. Yirrkala, North-East Arnhem Land – Northern Territory – Australia. natural pigments on bark, 107.3 x 58.4cm. AGNSW. Acc. IA27.1960. © Estate of Muŋgurrawuy Yunupiŋu, courtesy Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre.  Gift of Dr Stuart Scougall 1960.