Rosalie Gascoigne artist gets major retrospective at National Gallery
Rosalie Gascoigne arrived in Canberra at 26. She held her first exhibition at 57 and worked until her death at 82.
Rosalie Gascoigne came to Canberra from New Zealand and stayed for 56 years. Gascoigne had no formal art school training and lacked traditional drawing skills but held her first solo exhibition at 57.
She continued until her death at 82, becoming Canberra's most acclaimed visual artist. In 1982 she represented Australia at the Venice Biennale with Peter Booth.
She was the first Australian woman artist to do so. The National Gallery of Australia retrospective runs Oct 24 to Feb 14.
It gathers her entire body of work: installations, bone sculptures, linoleum pieces, and works made from found objects, corrugated iron, soft-drink boxes, road signs, and feathers. Curator Deborah Hart wrote a detailed book about the show.
- 57
- Age at first exhibition
- 56
- Years in Canberra
- 82
- Age at death
- 1982
- Venice Biennale year
Why it mattersA major retrospective honors an artist who started late. She became nationally famous. It proves it is never too late to achieve recognition.
AustraliaThe National Gallery of Australia is in Canberra, so local residents have direct access to a significant exhibition of an artist who spent her entire creative life in the city.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
