Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s

‘Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s’ is an expansive exhibition of more than 140 paintings, sculptures, photographs and works of decorative art by Queensland-born artists and those who travelled here in the middle decades of the twentieth century, showing at the Queensland Art Gallery from August 16 to January 26, 2026.

The free exhibition will include significant works by Brisbane-based artists William Bustard, WG Grant, Vida Lahey, Daphne Mayo, Carl McConnell, Margaret Olley and Leonard and Kathleen Shillam as well as luminaries from the regions such as Kenneth Macqueen on the Darling Downs and Joe Alimindjin Rootsey (Barrow Point people, Ama Wuriingu clan) who captured his Country in North Queensland.

The exhibition also explores connections between these artists and others — such as Sidney Nolan and Max Dupain — who travelled to Queensland to explore its histories and subject matter and, in doing so, contributed to the development of a modernist sensibility here.

Good to know - On Saturday, August 16, from 11:30am–12:15pm audiences can join Samantha Littley for a curator’s tour of the exhibition. Then on Sunday, August 31, from 1.30pm–2:15pm, take a deep dive into the social, economic and political setting of Queensland during the 1930s to 1950s with a tour through the show led by Emeritus Professor Peter Spearitt. 

Need to know - How to get to the gallery and parking.

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Image credits - top to bottom: 

Gwendolyn Grant, Australia 1877–1968 / Winter sunshine 1939 / Purchased 1939 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Gwendolyn Grant Estate

Vida Lahey, Australia 1882–1968 / Building the bridge 1931 / Gift from the estate of Mrs Gladys Powell 1941 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA

Kenneth Macqueen, Australia 1897–1960 / Under the casuarinas, Maroochydore c.1938 / Purchased 1944 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA

Betty Quelhurst / Australia 1919–2008 / The convenience store, Breakfast Creek 1955 / Oil on canvas / 55 x 76cm / Gift of the artist through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 1997 / Collection: QAGOMA, Brisbane / © Betty Quelhurst 1997