We pay our respects to the Gundungurra people who are the traditional custodians of the land, whose deepening connection to culture and customs have cared for this country for over 60,000 years.
We acknowledge Elders past, present and emerging for their immense spiritual connection to place which was never ceded.
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Clarice Beckett: Paintings from the National Collection presents an intimate, rarely seen group of works by one of the most original artists of early twentieth-century Australia.
Deeply sensitive to the effects of colour, light and atmosphere, Beckett painted the life and scenery of her coastal home in southeast Naarm/Melbourne with an eye for the commonplace and fleeting effects of nature. Her work captures a world on the cusp of modernisation, evoking both the natural environment and simple pleasures of suburbia.
In 1972, the artist’s sister Hilda Mangan donated a group of Beckett’s works to the National Gallery. It is this collection that will be on view for the first time, their freshness and vitality recently restored by extensive conservation treatment.
This exhibition is a National Gallery Touring Exhibition supported by The Australian Government through Visions of Australia.
This touring exhibition will be presented alongside selected works by Clarice Beckett from public and private collections and a new series of works by artist Mirra Whale.
Artist Biography
Mirra is a Sydney-based artist whose artworks explore the formal and conceptual limits of the genre of still life. In her practice, Mirra uses everyday household objects and presents them from another angle. Mirra has been a finalist of several art prizes, including the Archibald Prize, Kedumba Drawing Award, Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize, Salon Des Refuses, Portia Geach Portrait Prize, AME Bale Art Prize, Hornsby Art Prize, Mortimore Art Prize and the Manning Gallery Prize. In 2024, Mirra was the winner of the Redland Art Prize in Queensland. She has also won the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award (EMSLA) and the Royal Art Society North Sydney Drawing Prize.
We are delighted to invite you and your guests to the opening of Clarice Beckett: Paintings from the National Collection soon. An Eventbrite Link will be sent with our invitation. All are welcome. To receive an invitation, add yourself to our mailing list. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your name and email.
Clarice Beckett: Paintings from the National Collection is a National Gallery Touring Exhibition supported by The Australian Government through Visions of Australia.
The exhibition presented at Ngununggula is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW
IMAGE CREDITS:
IMAGES: 1. Clarice Beckett painting in yard at her Beaumaris home. From: Rosalind Hollinrake, The Artist and Her Circle. 2. Mirra Whale. Courtesy of the artist.
EXHIBITION
22 November – 25 January 2026
CLARICE BECKETT
GALLERY
FREE ENTRY