The William Robinson Showcase
was on display in the Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4, State Library of Queensland from 27 March - 1 August 2010. This virtual exhibition is an excerpt from the physical exhibition.
WILLIAM ROBINSON (1936 - ) Ekka series 1 – 20, drawing 14, 2007
The William Robinson Showcase presents the major acquisition for the John Oxley Library (JOL) to mark its milestone 75th anniversary in 2009. With the support of the Partners of the State Library of Queensland through the Queensland Library Foundation, the JOL acquired twenty drawings of the 'Ekka' (Ekka series 1-20) by the nationally and internationally renowned Queensland artist William Robinson AO.
His twenty Ekka drawings are complemented by an earlier acquisition, Robinson's Untitled oil painting, which was purchased in 1988 to mark the opening of the State Library of Queensland in its building at South Bank. It was created at a time that the artist lived on a farm in the Canungra-Beechmont area in the Gold Coast hinterland. While capturing William Robinson’s unique vision of the distinctive mountain forest, with its varied open eucalypt and rainforest hugging the cliff tops, the painting also documents the effects of the transition of this country to agricultural use with evidence of burnt areas, felled trees and cows gathered around the creek.
The exhibition emphasises Robinson's fine eye for detail and character, and highlights his status as a leading interpreter of the Queensland landscape. Born in Brisbane in 1936, he has lived most of his life in Queensland, working for many years as an art teacher at a number of South East Queensland tertiary institutions.
The State Library gratefully acknowledges the generous donation of the Queensland Library Foundation through its Partners to acquire the Ekka series 1 – 20 by William Robinson.
- View a selection of images from the exhibition
- Explore resources on William Robinson and the 'Ekka'
- Background information on the Untitled painting [new window
33kb] - Children's drawing activity [new window 518 kb]
- View the digital story
- Streamed audio: Windows Media Player
- Download audio: mp4 [14 MB]
More information
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- Email: learningparticipation@slq.qld.gov.au
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Last updated: 10th January 2012
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