Media Releases
MEDIA RELEASE - Monday, 13 January 2003
Creating a Gothic Paradise: Pugin at the
Antipodes
National Library of Australia
13 February - 18 May 2003
The first comprehensive exhibition of the Australian work by the highly influential early-Victorian architect, designer, theorist and staunch Catholic, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52), is on display at the National Library of Australia from 13 February 2003.
The touring exhibition, Creating a Gothic Paradise: Pugin at the Antipodes, has been organised by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and curated by architectural historian Brian Andrews. Five years of archival research and intensive field work have resulted in the identification of an exciting, internationally significant and previously unknown body of Pugin's work in Australia.
Pugin, best known for his stunning interiors and furnishings of the British Houses of Parliament, had a direct impact on ecclesiastical architecture in Australia, particularly in Tasmania and New South Wales, during the 19th and 20th centuries. He transformed architecture and design in England, forming the starting point for the Gothic Revival movement and had considerable impact in mainland Europe. For Pugin the beauty and strength of Gothic design represented a living symbol of an earlier age when spiritual faith was stronger.
He had a short but brilliant career. By the time of his death at age forty he had designed more than 100 buildings and produced thousands of designs for furniture, metalwork, stained glass, ceramic tiles, wallpaper, textiles, jewellery and book illustrations. Pugin wrote and illustrated thirteen books, including the influential Contrasts (1836) and The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture (1841). The impact of his theoretical writings is still evident today.
Pugin never visited Australia. His Tasmanian influence came about through his close friendship and shared passion for the Gothic tradition with Robert William Willson who left England in 1844 to become the first Catholic bishop of Van Diemen's Land. Accompanying Willson on the voyage was an ecclesiastical treasure-trove that included several tombs, two complete altars, a font, tiles, embroidered silk vestments, exquisite metalwork and three models of small churches, all Pugin designs.
Creating a Gothic Paradise: Pugin at the Antipodes contains more than 280 objects, including furniture, embroidered silk textiles, carved stonework, metalwork, books, paintings and engravings, documents, photographs and drawings, with original Pugin designs displayed alongside the items manufactured from them.
Most of Pugin's twelve Australian buildings were designed for John Bede Polding, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. They included St Francis Xavier's Church in Berrima, St Stephen's Church, Brisbane, and extensions to old St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney (destroyed in a disastrous 1865 fire along with its stunning Pugin organ case). All are brought to life through architectural drawings and both 19th century and present-day photographs.
National Library Director General Jan Fullerton said, "We are delighted to be part of the tour of this beautifully designed and enlightening exhibition which shows the extensive influence Pugin had on our religious buildings. Anyone with an interest in art, architecture, design, history and religion will be captivated by the range and quality of items on display."
Curator Brian Andrews said, "Pugin had a revolutionary impact on the course of architecture and design from his own time and well into the 20th century. There is not a city, town or village in Australia that does not display some evidence of the impact of Pugin and the Gothic Revival, from tiny wooden churches with pointed windows and doors up to the magnificent St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne."
Accompanying the exhibition is a beautifully presented 248 page colour catalogue. The extensive text is complemented by 282 images, with each exhibit described, analysed, illustrated and set within its wider social and artistic context.
Creating a Gothic Paradise: Pugin at the Antipodes is developed and presented by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
The development and tour of this exhibition is made possible by Visions of Australia and supported by the Gordon Darling Foundation, the Ian Potter Foundation and the John Schaeffer Collection. The Canberra tour is supported by Novotel Canberra.
Creating a Gothic Paradise: Pugin at the Antipodes
National
Library of Australia, Canberra
13 February - 18 May 2003
Exhibition
Gallery
Open daily 9am - 5pm
Free Admission
Media contact:
Yvonne Kennedy,
Director
Communications and Marketing,
National Library of Australia,
Telephone: (02) 6262 1353 or 0411 753 891
Email: ykennedy@nla.gov.au
Susan Grigson,
Media Liaison Officer
Telephone: (02) 6262 1160
or 0411 519 420;
Email: sgrigson@nla.gov.au
