Margaret Olley follows Conrad Martens in painting the McPherson Range

Margaret Olley, Australia 1923-2011 / Boonah landscape 1962 / Oil on board / 72.5 x 88cm / Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2012 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Margaret Olley Art Trust

Margaret Olley, Australia 1923-2011 / Boonah landscape 1962 / Oil on board / 72.5 x 88cm / Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2012 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Margaret Olley Art Trust / View full image

Margaret Olley (1923-2011) was deeply grateful when in 1962 her close friend, poet and art critic Pam Bell (1928-1995) invited Olley to visit her family home at Aroo station in Boonah (illustrated), just west of Ipswich near Brisbane. It provided Olley with new subject matter for a number of regional landscapes and homestead portraits, not having a drivers license Olley relied on others for transport, consequently her subject matter was usually limited to still-life and interior paintings.

Aroo Station 1938

The homestead on Aroo, Boonah, the well-known property of Major B. C.Bell / Queensland Country Life (Qld: 1900-54) Thu 13 Oct 1938, page 2 / Courtesy: Trove, National Library Australia

The homestead on Aroo, Boonah, the well-known property of Major B. C.Bell / Queensland Country Life (Qld: 1900-54) Thu 13 Oct 1938, page 2 / Courtesy: Trove, National Library Australia / View full image

Boonah landscape

Boonah landscape 1962 (illustrated) was inspired by the view of Roadvale and the distant McPherson Range which Olley took in as she travelled along the road to Aroo. There is an intense relationship created between the colours of the hot sun and red volcanic earth with the cooler tones of the grass in the foreground and fields either side of road that sweeps towards the distant mountains.

Margaret Olley ‘Boonah landscape’ 1962

Margaret Olley, Australia 1923-2011 / Boonah landscape 1962 / Oil on board / 72.5 x 88cm / Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2012 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Margaret Olley Art Trust

Margaret Olley, Australia 1923-2011 / Boonah landscape 1962 / Oil on board / 72.5 x 88cm / Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2012 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Margaret Olley Art Trust / View full image

View from the opposite direction

A closer view of the weatherboard Queenslanders and church in the distance captured in Olley’s painting can be seen in a c.1930 photograph of Milbong Lutheran Church (formally known as St Luke’s) and cemetery on Ipswich-Boonah Road from the opposite direction where her landscape was painted. Built in 1885, the church building was demolished in 1974 after it ceased being used as a church and was rebuilt as a house, the cemetery attached to the church remains today.

Looking north-east across Milbong Lutheran Church (formally known as St Luke’s) and cemetery c.1930, Ipswich-Boonah Road (from the opposite direction where Margaret Olley painted Boonah Landscape). Built in 1885, the church building was demolished in 1974 after it ceased being used as a church and rebuilt as a house. The cemetery attached to the church remains / ba1464 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane

Looking north-east across Milbong Lutheran Church (formally known as St Luke’s) and cemetery c.1930, Ipswich-Boonah Road (from the opposite direction where Margaret Olley painted Boonah Landscape). Built in 1885, the church building was demolished in 1974 after it ceased being used as a church and rebuilt as a house. The cemetery attached to the church remains / ba1464 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image

The site of Boonah landscape today

The site of the Margaret Olley painting Boonah landscape / Photographs: Cath M. Charlton

The site of the Margaret Olley painting Boonah landscape / Photographs: Cath M. Charlton / View full image

The site of the Margaret Olley painting Boonah landscape / Photographs: Cath M. Charlton

The site of the Margaret Olley painting Boonah landscape / Photographs: Cath M. Charlton / View full image

Pam Bell

Olley’s portrait of Pam Bell (illustrated) won the 1962 Helena Rubinstein Portrait Prize (disbanded 2011) awarded for works by Australian artists, before being exhibited in the Archibald Prize that year. The oil on canvas was later destroyed in the fire at her family home ‘Farndon’ at 15 Morry Street, Hill End (now West End) in 1980 together with the loss of many of Olley’s early works, photographs, and objects from her travels.

Left: Margaret Olley’s portrait Pam Bell 1962 / Oil on canvas / Destroyed in the fire at Farndon in 1980 / Right: Polo at Goondiwindi. Pam Bell (left) of ‘Aroo’ Boonah, Queensland / Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), Wed 5 Sep 1956, page 29 / Courtesy: Trove, National Library Australia

Left: Margaret Olley’s portrait Pam Bell 1962 / Oil on canvas / Destroyed in the fire at Farndon in 1980 / Right: Polo at Goondiwindi. Pam Bell (left) of ‘Aroo’ Boonah, Queensland / Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), Wed 5 Sep 1956, page 29 / Courtesy: Trove, National Library Australia / View full image

Margaret Olley and Pam Bell 1991

Margaret Olley and Pam Bell (right), at the ‘Poetry 1947-1989’ book launch 1991 (Toowoomba: Rowland, 1990) / Photograph: Ray Fulton © QAGOMA / Collection: QAGOMA Research Library

Margaret Olley and Pam Bell (right), at the ‘Poetry 1947-1989’ book launch 1991 (Toowoomba: Rowland, 1990) / Photograph: Ray Fulton © QAGOMA / Collection: QAGOMA Research Library / View full image

Pam Bell’s father Major Bertram Charles Bell (1893-1941) was a well-known Queensland pastoralist and son of James Thomas Marsh Bell (1839–1903) and Gertrude Augusta Bell, a prominent family from Coochin Coochin, (illustrated) a 22,000-acre (8903 ha) property near Boonah, one of the oldest pastoral homesteads in Queensland’s Scenic Rim, recorded by Conrad Martens also in the Gallery’s Collection. Martens stayed at Coochin Coochin for nine days in November 1851 when it was occupied by George Fairholme, a pioneer settler, Bell purchased the property in 1883 and the homestead is still owned by the family today. Martens sketched remarkably accurate topographical outlines of the mountains in the area and the nearby Great Dividing Range and the McPherson Range which Olley would paint some 100 years later with Boonah landscape.

Views around Coochin Coochin station

Conrad Martens, England/Australia 1801-78 / Coochin 1851 / Pencil on off-white wove paper / 17.5 x 25.7cm / Acquired before 1954 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Conrad Martens, England/Australia 1801-78 / Coochin 1851 / Pencil on off-white wove paper / 17.5 x 25.7cm / Acquired before 1954 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / View full image

Views around Coochin Coochin station ca.1920. Coochin is one of the oldest surviving homesteads in Queensland. It lies nestled in the Scenic Rim at Boonah, the junction of the Great Divide and MacPherson ranges. Coochin homestead is one of the earliest pastoral runs in the Moreton District, settled in 1842 by David Hunter & James Fyffe. James Thomas Marsh Bell with partner Colville Hyde, purchased the freehold for 30 shillings an acre and then later Thomas Bell bought out Colville Hyde in 1901 / M780-0035-0001 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane

Views around Coochin Coochin station ca.1920. Coochin is one of the oldest surviving homesteads in Queensland. It lies nestled in the Scenic Rim at Boonah, the junction of the Great Divide and MacPherson ranges. Coochin homestead is one of the earliest pastoral runs in the Moreton District, settled in 1842 by David Hunter & James Fyffe. James Thomas Marsh Bell with partner Colville Hyde, purchased the freehold for 30 shillings an acre and then later Thomas Bell bought out Colville Hyde in 1901 / M780-0035-0001 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image

The Coochin Coochin homestead and property, 2013 / Photograph: © Peter Law / 29211-0001-0003 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland

The Coochin Coochin homestead and property, 2013 / Photograph: © Peter Law / 29211-0001-0003 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland / View full image

Curatorial extracts, research and supplementary material compiled by Elliott Murray, Senior Digital Marketing Officer, QAGOMA with support from the QAGOMA Research Library.

Related Stories

  •
    Read •

    Fairy Tale Live Music & Film: The Adventures of Prince Achmed

    Join us for a magical fairy tale event on Sunday 3 December at 11am — the intricate and enchanting 1926 silent film The Adventures of Prince Achmed will feature a live score performed on stage by music duo Dva — Linsey Pollak and Tunji Beier. Screening as part of the ‘Fairy Tale’ film program, The Adventures of Prince Achmed is a journey through the tales of the Arabian nights by director Lotte Reiniger who crafted the film across three years. An ornate animation that is bathed in exquisite colour tinting, the story includes a flying horse, a wicked sorcerer and a brave prince. RELATED: Journey through the Fairy Tales exhibition with our weekly series ‘Fairy Tales’ Assistant Curator Sophie Hopmeier spoke with percussionist Tunji Beier about the forthcoming Live Music & Film event for The Adventures of Prince Achmed. Sophie Hopmeier / Firstly, I’m intrigued to know what you both thought when you encountered ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’. Tunji Beier /We were quite intrigued by the look and technique of the film. Although using traditional shadow puppetry it has a very contemporary feel to it. Sophie Hopmeier / You and Linsey both mention that collaboration with other musicians is a part of music-making that lights you up and gives you joy. When we brief musicians about the process for creating a live score for a silent film, we often ask the musicians to think of the film or the filmmaker as a creative collaborator. The intention of this framing is to start musicians thinking about the film as a creative piece to listen and respond to, we find that creates a deeper, more nuanced engagement. How did you start to think about the music for this film when it’s not possible to have a conversation with the people who made it and it was produced almost 100 years ago? Tunji Beier /The way we work is very much to respond to the images and story, we use improvisation to find tones and textures of music that we feel is right. Improvisation is our form of expression, initially just looking for combinations of instruments and sounds and then formalising it to go with the scenes of the film. Formalising in a very broad sense, we find a mood and a collection of sounds and then improvise from that point. We only mark scenes and what instruments or sounds we want in that scene, the rest is free. This way of performing helps us to keep it spontaneous, fresh and exciting. Sophie Hopmeier / ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’ reflects an interesting range of cultures. It is inspired by the stories of Arabian Nights, it is made by a German animator, Lotte Reininger, and the exquisite imagery is reminiscent of both Hans Christian Andersen’s paper cuts and the Indonesian tradition of shadow puppetry Wayang. Your performances draw from many different music traditions, I wondered if there were particular music styles that you felt suited this story, what were they and how do you blend them? Tunji Beier /There have been some moments that lend themselves to a particular feel like the festival scene at the beginning of the film, here we are using an up-tempo Punjabi style groove with the Medieval Shawm — from the oboe family. Sophie Hopmeier / Dva is a duo. I’d love to hear about the different musical sensibilities you each bring to the performance and what instruments or mood the audience might expect. Tunji Beier /Dva’s music is unique in its own way. Our performances are fully improvised, not knowing what instrument will be picked up next, or who will start, or what time signature or key it might be in. Sometimes changing time signatures a few times in a piece of music. As we have been playing together for over 25 years it makes this kind of spontaneous playing possible. It is hard to define Dva’s music but we can say that Macedonia, India, West Africa and the Middle East play a big role in how we create our music. We often use drones and our music is mostly in modes (scales) from form the Middle East to India. Dr Sophie Hopmeier is ‘Fairy Tales’ Assistant Curator and Assistant Curator, Australian Cinémathèque, QAGOMA Get tickets | Upcoming ‘Fairy Tales’ Live Music & Film Live Music & Film: Claire 2001 11.00am, Sunday 3 March 2024 | TICKETED Organist David Bailey will provide newly composed live accompaniment to the film on the Gallery’s 1929 Wurlitzer organ. Live Music & Film: Häxan 1922 6.30pm, Friday 5 April 2024 | TICKETED Post classical composer Madeleine Cocolas will provide newly composed live accompaniment to the film. View the Fairy Tales Film Program The ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition is at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Australia from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024. ‘Fairy Tales Cinema: Truth, Power and Enchantment‘ screens at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024. The major publication ‘Fairy Tales in Art and Film’ available at the QAGOMA Store and online explores how fairy tales have held our fascination for centuries through art and culture. The Australian Cinémathèque The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) is the only Australian art gallery with purpose-built facilities dedicated to film and the moving image. The Australian Cinémathèque at GOMA provides an ongoing program of film and video that you’re unlikely to see elsewhere, offering a rich and diverse experience of the moving image, showcasing the work of influential filmmakers and international cinema, rare 35mm prints, recent restorations and silent films with live musical accompaniment by local musicians or on the Gallery’s Wurlitzer organ originally installed in Brisbane’s Regent Theatre in November 1929.
  •
    Read •

    City Symphony Live Music & Film: Nothing But Time

    We offer a rare treat for this months Live Music & Film City Symphony event at 11.00am Sunday 22 October — a classical pianist who is a veteran of silent film performance. Mauro Colombis will be fresh from the world’s premiere silent film festival — Pordenone Silent Film Festival — in Italy where he was on stage. The four live music accompanied films for your viewing pleasure traverse the USA and Europe. Manhatta 1921, which is often cited as the first City Symphony film ever made, combines lines from Walt Whitman’s poem ‘Mannahatta’ with 65 city shots to form a proud and majestic portrait of Manhattan. Melbhattan 2012 is a playful, animated reimagining of contemporary Melbourne. Douro, Faina Fluvial (Labor on the Douro River) 1931 is embedded on the banks of the Douro River which flows through the hometown of Portuguese film director Manoel de Oliveira. Rien que les heures (Nothing But Time) 1926 captures a day in the life of Paris from dawn till dusk. Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti invents new ways to capture the city: the hardworking wearily return home from their jobs, a sailor deeply kisses his beloved, the camera zooms through the air looking out from a merry-go-round and eyes peer out from a darkened cinema screen. Get tickets to City Symphony Live Music & Film series Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA 11.00am, Sunday 22 October 2023 We asked Mauro Colombis about his musical beginnings in Italy and how he prepares for silent films. Rosie Hays / You have been specialising in silent film live piano accompaniment for over two decades. How did you first get involved in this art form, and what continues to draw you to it? Mauro Colombis / I come from Pordenone, Italy, the town where the important silent film festival “Le Giornate del cinema muto” takes place every year. When I was about twenty years old, I was invited by my piano teacher to attend the events of the festival. The first time I watched a silent film was during “The Giornate”, I do not remember which film it was, but I still remember how I felt about the music, or better, about the combination of moving images and music. The piano sounded like as if there was a music score to play, but it was completely dark and I could not understand how the pianist could read any sheet music, on the other side, I thought he was improvising, but as the music matched very well with the film, I thought it was not possible that he was making up the music…so I was astonished, unable to solve the mystery… One week later I met at the train station one of the founders of the festival. We had a conversation about music and silent films, he confirmed that on the night I was in the theatre, the pianist had improvised, he explained that almost all the screenings had improvised piano scores, as there was no way to provide the films in advance to the musicians. He also invited me to accompany a silent film, saying that it would be nice for the festival to have a local pianist. That’s how, a few months later, I accompanied my first film. What I like about this way of making music is the combination of creative work and the emotions given by watching the screen as the film runs, I feel strong emotions when I “enter” into the film with the music I play. Rosie Hays / Where do you start when thinking about making music for silent films? Do you take a specific approach when starting new projects? Mauro Colombis / I use different ways to make music for silent films, not necessarily in the same order. At the beginning, when I am given a silent film to accompany, I always try to get as much information as possible, just to have a historical context. Then I watch it, once or more times. As I watch it I try to hear in my head musical themes and I try to fix them in my mind. I also play these music ideas at the piano to make them “real”. I also work when I’m not watching the film or playing the piano, for instance, sometimes I go for a walk near the water, not far from my house, and as I walk I see the film in my head and I try to feel the music, I love very much walking and making music at the same time. Other times I simply put my laptop on the piano and I start playing the film and playing the piano. I also record the music I play, so that I can easily come back to what I like better. At times, I just improvise at the piano without running the film but thinking of a particular scene. All these ways to create music for a silent film are equally important to me. Rosie Hays / Your style combines composition and improvisation. What attracts you to the combination of these techniques? How do you determine whether a particular part of a film requires a more composed or improvised approach? Mauro Colombis / The way I work doesn’t lead to a neat distinction between improvisation and composition. To me, in some way, improvisation is instant composition. I could say that the improvised parts are those ones that I play once, on stage when I let the notes flow from the keys, the composed parts instead are based on something I have already played at an earlier time. They can be musical themes, or vague rhythmic or harmonic structures. I do not usually write the music I play unless I have to play with other musicians. I prefer to have parts to improvise when I perform on stage, as I believe that there is always the possibility to create something beautiful, new and unexpected without preparation. Rosie Hays...
Loading...