About

‘Isaac Walter Jenner’ explores the evocative paintings of the English born artist, a self-taught marine and landscape painter. Jenner (1836-1902) spent eighteen years in Brisbane until his death and was a major force in the city’s burgeoning cultural life.

Stylistically, Jenner was an artist caught between two worlds. His heart and inspiration lay with his old world of romantic English landscapes filled with the soft light of dawns and sunsets, set against rugged coastlines, ships and the sea. While the prevailing contemporary trend was to a truer interpretation of the Australian light, Jenner's art was imbued with a sublime romantic spirit.

Following his arrival in Brisbane in 1883, Jenner worked diligently to raise the public's awareness of art, was a founding member of the Queensland Art Society in 1887, and also lobbied consistently for the establishment of the Queensland National Art Gallery in 1895 – now known at QAGOMA.