.

Download the ArtVenture Trail here!

(less)

GOLLAN HOTEL, 73 KEEN STREET LISMORE:

The Village shows Lucas Wright’s use of colour and his love of built and natural landscapes. Like much of his work, it also shows the influence of Vincent Van Gogh, who Wright greatly admires. He honours some of the people important to his life with the text at the bottom of the artwork.

Lucas Wright is a Lismore-based artist Lismore who paints, draws, and creates ceramic artworks. He lives with Down Syndrome and works at the Outpost Studio, Lismore.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned, aqueous cleaned, removed from stretcher, and re-stretched on new conservation grade stretcher.

Lucas Wright (b. 1988),The Village  2017, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 120 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Purchased 2018. Photo: Carl Warner.

(less)

87 WOODLARK STREET LISMORE: 

‘Some of my artworks have stories in them, about what we do now or have done in the past, like gathering and hunting and fishing and all of that. Sometimes the paintings mark down different areas, different territories. I mainly do animals because I just love painting them. My paintings are a mixture of feelings and things I see.’ 

Oral Roberts was born at Cubawee mission, near Tuncester. He grew up in the Lismore area for all his life. He is a Bundjalung artist from the Widjabul Wia-bal clan. 

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned.

Oral Roberts (b.1960), Stingray  1998, acrylic on board, 134 x 48 x 6.5 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Donated by Keith Graham 1998. Photo: Carl Warner.

(less)

4 CARRINGTON STREET LISMORE: 

Hunter Street Backyards Lismore No.1 captures the urban beauty of this Lismore scene. Edna McKenzie donated this work as part of a collection of images depicting the Lismore region from the 1920s to the 1980s and works inspired by botanical subjects. 

Edna McKenzie was a long-time Lismore local, and her connection to the area went back to the pioneering days. She was also one of the longest-participating members of the Lismore Art Club. 

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned, aqueous cleaned, final varnish.

Edna McKenzie OAM (1912-2011), Hunter Street Backyards, Lismore No.1  1981, oil on board, 34 x 44 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Donated by the Artist 2007. Photo: Carl Warner.

(less)

44 CARRINGTON STREET LISMORE:

Spare Bedroom was painted at 'Fardon', the Olley family home in Brisbane. Margaret Olley's mother, Grace Olley, was good friends with artist Margaret Cilento's grandmother, Alice 'Nanny' McGlew. Occasionally Nanny McGlew was a guest at the Olleys' and occupied this narrow little room, more like a passageway than a proper bedroom.

Margaret Olley was born in Lismore on 24 June 1923 and passed away in her sleep at her home in Sydney on 26 July 2011. She is recognised as one of Australia's foremost still-life painters. Many of Olley's paintings depict intimate interiors. Her still-lifes and interiors reflect the objects within her surroundings and the characteristics of her immediate world, and this became more and more true as her momility decreased, later in iife. She held over ninety solo exhibitions during her lifetime.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: The arwork was dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned; unstable media to edges was consolidated; abrasions to media were inpainted; final varnish; reframed into new frame.

Margaret Olley OAM (1923-2011), Spare Bedroom  1970, oil on composition board, 122 x 91.5 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Donated from the Margaret Hannah Olley Art Trust in memory of her parents, Joseph and Grace Olley 2006. Photo: Carl Warner.

(less)

44 CARRINGTON STREET LISMORE:

This work was originally gifted by Margaret Olley to Robert Haines (1910-2005), who was an influential mid-Twentieth Century gallery director. To Olley’s irritation, Haines later tired of the work, and sent it back to her where it remained in her collection until gifted to Lismore Regional Gallery.

Margaret Olley brought objects into her home, like those in Lemons and Ginger Jar, which she chose for their potential to translate into paintings. Olley paints the relationships between objects to produce compositions that convey what she called a ‘dialogue between the purity of shapes and their spatial relationships.'

Margaret Olley held over 90 solo exhibitions during her life time. She was appointed an Officer Order of Australia (AO) in 1991, and awarded Life Governor of the AGNSW in 1997. She was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2006. Margaret was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Macquarie University, the University of Sydney, the University of Newcastle, the University of Queensland, Southern Cross University, Lismore and Griffith University, Brisbane.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services
Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned and aqueous clean; consolidation to edges; losses to edges were inpainted; final varnish; reframed in new frame.

Margaret Olley OAM (1923-2011), Lemons and ginger jar  circa 1980, oil on board, 49.5 x 75 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Gift of the Estate of Margaret Olley, Margaret Olley Art Trust/Philip Bacon 2013. Photo: Carl Warner.

(less)

LISMORE CENTRAL SHOPPING CENTRE, 44 CARRINGTON STREET LISMORE (UPSTAIRS): 

Digby Moran's inspiration to paint was to express his Bundjalung heritage. His pride in his Bundjalung heritage and country, in harmony with Mother Earth, is the inspiration for this work.

 Moran started painting late in his career. He worked in agriculture and even as a boxer before he turned his hand to painting. In 1991 he undertook an art course through the Lismore TAFE, which launched his career as an artist.

Albert (Digby) Moran was born in Ballina and raised on Cabbage Tree Island. His father was Dungutti, and his mother Bundjalung. He was a highly respected and much loved member of the Lismore/Ballina community.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned on verso and recto; consolidation of unstable media; cracks to media were inpainted to reduce visbility.

Digby Moran (1948-2019), Mother Earth  2005, acrylic on canvas, 99 x 54.7 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Purchased 2005. Photo: Parsa Jamalpour.

(less)

LISMORE CENTRAL SHOPPING CENTRE, 44 CARRINGTON STREET LISMORE (UPSTAIRS):

Child was the winning work of the Third Annual Lismore Art Prize in 1955. The painting caused much comment and controversy as it explored modernist ideas about art, which many people were uncomfortable with at that time. One letter to the editor of The Northern Star described the painting as ‘flat as the canvas on which it is painted. It is a poor caricature in sickly colour’.

Molvig was one of the most important artists in the Brisbane art scene during the period between 1950 and 1970. It is suspected that the child depicted may be the son of fellow painter and friend of Molvig, John Rigby.

Jon Molvig was considered a major developer of 20^th century Australian Expressionism. He won many art prizes, including the Archibald Prize in 1966 for a portrait of the artist Charles Blackman.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: The artwork was deframed; dry surface cleaned and eaqueous cleaned; consolidation of unstable media; media losses were inpainted; localised varnish and reactivation of blanched areas; re-framed into new frame.

Jon Molvig (1923-1970), Child  1953, oil on board, 63 x 47.5 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Acquisitive: the City of Lismore Art Prize, Winner 1955. Photo: Carl Warner.

(less)

70 MAGELLAN STREET LISMORE:

Michael Zavros employs a photo-realist style in his paintings to evoke beauty and luxury. He paints beautiful things beautifully. He sees his paintings ‘as the culmination of a performance … a baroque folly … nature made better, more pretty.’ He has acknowledged that his art is about his identity and masculinity and that there is always an element of self-portraiture.

Zavros has owned many horses. His first horse was Willy a Shetland pony. Asimi (the name is the Greek word for 'silver') was his first big horse and she was with him for a long time. He reluctantly gave up riding when he decided to attend art school, but they remained present in his work, and he now owns horses again.

Michael Zavros is a leading Australian artist who has been exhibited in major museums throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe. He graduated from Queensland College of Art with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1996. He won the prestigious inaugural Bulgari Award in 2012 and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2010. He has been a frequent finalist in the Archibald Prize. His solo exhibition, The Favourite, at QAG/GOMA 2023, is his most recent career accolade. Zavros’s work is held in numerous private and public collections, including National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, University of Queensland Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery,  Griffith University Art Collection, Newcastle Region Art Gallery and Tasmanian Museum and Gallery.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Deframed; dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned; cracks and unstable media was consolidated; media losses were infilled and inpainted; re-stretched onto new stretcher and re-framed into new frame.

Michael Zavros (b.1974), Asimi  2005, oil on canvas, 120 x 200 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Donated through the Federal Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Zavros, 2017. Photo: Parsa Jamalpour.

(less)

CARRINGTON STREET LISMORE (ALONGSIDE BARNETY SHEARMAN CARPARK):

Adrian Wiszniewski belonged to the group of Glasgow-based artists, known as The Glasgow Boys, who led a revival of figurative painting in Scottish art during the 1980s. In Wiszniewski's early work, the artist created densely patterned picture surfaces, covered with marks and squiggles.

Later this gave way to the use of a plainer background. However, the same dreamy, awkward-looking young men still appeared in his paintings. His work lies within the poetic, romantic tradition of British art. Artisan, pensive and mysterious,belongs to this period.

Adrian Wiszniewski was born in Glasgow. He studied architecture at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, then attended Glasgow School of Art from 1979 to 1983. He also works in printmaking, sculpture, installations, furniture, interior design, and writing.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Deframed; dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned; cracks and unstable media was consolidated; media losses were infilled and inpainted; re-stretched onto new stretcher and re-framed into new frame.

Adrian Wiszniewski (b.1958), Artisan  1998, oil on canvas, 68.5 x 55 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Donated through the Federal Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Rex Irwin, 2010. Photo: Parsa Jamalpour.

(less)

CARRINGTON STREET NEAR MAGELLAN STREETS:

Mixed Flowers is one of about 700 floral paintings by Alan Baker. One of his commercial art clients requested he paint a bunch of flowers, and from this beginning, Baker became one of Australia's best-known floral artists.

The notion of becoming an artist was a true privilege in the early 20th century. Alan Baker recalled, ‘I was fortunate in the extreme when my father enrolled me in the life classes conducted by J.S. Watkins in an old building in Margaret Street, Sydney.’

He was born in New South Wales, and at 13 years of age, during his days at Canterbury Boys High, he enrolled to study drawing at J.S. Watkins Art School. He left Canterbury High two years later to become a full-time art student.

J.S. Watkins school was a fertile ground in which to study and to nurture young talent because of the competitive stimulus of senior students such as Henry Hanke, Normand Baker (his brother) and William Pidgen who were all Archibald Prize winners.

Great emphasis was placed on tonal drawing in pencil, charcoal, pen, and washes, and after about four years, Baker was allowed to paint in oil colour. He entered a self-portrait in the Archibald at 18 years old, and it was accepted. Alan became an instructor at the J.S.Watkins school until he went to New Guinea.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services 
Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned; final varnish; reframed into new frame.

Alan Baker (1914-1987), Mixed Flowers  1967, oil on composition board, 60 x 44.5 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Purchased from City of Lismore Art Prize 1967. Photo: Carl Warner.

(less)

CARRINGTON STREET NEAR MAGELLAN STREET:

Lilies and Grapes is an early painting by Margaret Olley, depicting one of her favourite subjects, still-life. As Olley has commented: ‘People call it a still life. It has another dimension. It is relationships and the juxtaposition of objects. I use flowers, it's creative - and space is absolutely everything’.

1955 to 1958 was one of the least prolific times of Margaret Olley’s painting career. Winning the Lismore Art Prize no doubt provided her with the necessary encouragement to pursue her art more vigorously.

Margaret Olley was born in Lismore on 24 June 1923 and passed away in her sleep at her home in Sydney on 26 July 2011. She is recognised as one of Australia's foremost still-life painters. Olley's paintings depict intimate interiors and colourful environments. Her still lifes and interiors reflect the objects within her surroundings and the characteristics of her immediate world.

The objects that Margaret Olley brought into her home were chosen for their potential to translate into paintings. Olley paints the relationships between objects to produce compositions that convey what she called a 'dialogue between the purity of shapes and their spatial relationships'.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Unstable media was faced; extensive stabilisation of media; dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned; media losses were infilled and inpainted; final varnish; reframed in new frame.

Margaret Olley OAM, (1923-2011), Lillies and Grapes  1958, oil on board, 100.5 x 75 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Acquired through the Lismore Art Prize, Winner (oil painting) 1958. Photo: Parsa Jamalpour.

(less)

70 CARRINGTON STREET LISMORE:

'My painting Banksia was painted here at Wedderburn looking from my verandah into the surrounding bush - the banksia tree is a special tree for me and I've painted it many times'.

Elisabeth Cummings is one of Australia’s most respected living artists with a career spanning over 60 years. Cummings studied at the National Art School in Sydney and was awarded the AGNSW Travelling Art Scholarship in 1958.

Her exhibition Radiance, The Art of Elisabeth Cummings opened at the National Art School, Sydney, August 2023. In 2022 she was part of Know my Name at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned and aqueous cleaned; localised consolidation of unstable media; overall consolidation on hot table; re-stretched onto new stretcher; re-framed into new frame.

Elisabeth Cummings,(b.1934), Banksia  1977, oil on canvas, 111.5 x 75 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Acquired through City of Lismore Art Prize 1977. Photo: Parsa Jamalpour

(less)

STAR COURT ARCADE SHOP 9 MOLESWORTH STREET LISMORE:

Connor's art is based on drawing. He has said, 'I could live without painting and making sculptures but I could not live without drawing. Drawing is the very basis of everything. I could happily take my sketchbook and draw for the rest of my life and show nobody'.

‘Everyone can draw, until told they can't. Drawing is teaching yourself to see. Drawing is better than any other way of seeing, of being where you are. Throw away cameras, they are a way of saying I'll look at it later,' the artist said in 1989.

Kevin Connor, born in Sydney in 1932, won the Archibald Prize twice; in 1975 and 1977. He won the Sulman Prize in 1991 and again in 1997. He is a highly regarded Australian artist known for his bold and expressive images of people in urban surrounds.

Conserved by ICS / International Conservation Services

Conservation notes: Dry surface cleaned; washed to clean and stabilised paper; humidified and flattened.

Kevin Connor (b.1932), Two Men  1960, gouache and ink on paper, 24.2 x 29.2 cm, Lismore Regional Gallery Permanent Collection, Private Donation, Bequest of Lady Barrett, 1992. Photo: Parsa Jamalpour.

(less)