Arts and culture
Portrait of Leonard French by Hal Missingham
Arguably the most monumental of Australian artists, Leonard French experienced extraordinary fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some…
Kitty Flanagan
She’s bright and very funny. Kitty Flanagan was born and educated in Sydney. She is described as a stand-up comedian;…
Wozzeck
The story is bleak, very bleak; the music bleak and very loud, yet Wozzeck is regarded as an outstanding 20th…
Beware of Pity
Festivals are an opportunity to present performances that might not otherwise be seen; there are several in this year’s Sydney…
Female statue head Villa Casali
Most of us love Rome while still being a little overwhelmed by it. The Roman Empire’s geographical spread and duration…
Banjo
He was a solicitor, journalist,war correspondent, soldier, grazier but, most importantly, a poet. Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson CBE (1864-1941) was…
John William Waterhouse.The Lady of Shalott 1888 oil on canvas.
That a poet could enjoy huge popularity in mid-career and still be popularly admired more than a century after his…
Richard Tognetti and the ACO
As leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti has never done quite what was expected, other than to be…
Helen Thomson and Caroline Brazier
By my count, the 2019 Season will be the 40th produced by the Sydney Theatre Company. The coming season is…
Nadine Garner
As the most subscribed theatre company in the country, the Melbourne Theatre Company can be deservedly proud of its long…
Gail Kelly by Paul Newton
Australians have a particular affection for portraits as evidenced by the popular Archibald and Moran portrait prizes and Anh Do’s…
Paul Cézanne Fruit 1879/80
This year both Melbourne and Sydney have major exhibitions of ‘modern masters’. The big Winter show from New York, MoMA…
Mitchell Galleries
One of the loveliest and best-loved buildings in Sydney, the Mitchell Building of the State Library of NSW is enjoying…
Stuart Devlin candelabras (1980-81) in Dining Room
Every day, Australians carry some of his work in their pockets. Stuart Devlin (1931-2018) designed the decimal currency introduced in…
Artists of The Australian Ballet
There is a lot of dance news about at the moment. The Australian Ballet’s new version of Spartacus, to the…
Some Brandenburg section leaders
‘Celebrating 30 Years of Baroque’ is Paul Dyer’s theme of the 2019 Season of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra; 30 years…
Kate Morton
She was born in a small town in South Australia, later grew up on Tamborine Mountain and, when aged barely…
Evita and Che
‘The people adore me/ So, Christian Dior me’ is just one of the many witty and pointed couplets written by…
Michael Fabiano
There will be a lot going on at Opera Australia in 2019 with arguably the most interesting repertoire for a…
![Richard Tognetti [Photo: Zan Wimberley]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Culture_Buff.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
Richard Tognetti
Going from strength to strength, the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s recently announced 2019 Season shows no flagging of inspiration or ambition.…
Grace Cossington Smith (1892-1984)
Exhibitions prior to major art auctions can be a wonderful way to view works by significant artists that may not…
The House
The House is the economically direct title of a new book about ‘the dramatic story of the Sydney Opera House…
Lang Lang in an improbable situation
An internationally admired orchestra in a beautiful hall: that’s the Melbourne Symphony in Hamer Hall of the Victorian Arts Centre.…
Wayne Blair
Such a lovely title, it’s hard to believe that The Long Forgotten Dream hasn’t been used before. The title belongs…
John Russell
Once he was known as ‘Australia’s lost impressionist’ and referred to as John Peter Russell. Now at the Art Gallery…
