Meg Rutherford Youthful Encounters with Beasts and Birds
Unknown photographer Meg Rutherford discusses her lead cast horse with tutor Lyndon Dadswell at the National Art School, Sydney c1956 (detail), National Art Archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales
Draws from the archive to document the career of an Australian artist, from internationally exhibited sculptor to widely published illustrator and writer
Meg Rutherford Youthful Encounters with Beasts and Birds
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Naala Nura, our south building
Lower level 3, Library, archive and children’s art library
Free
This small display from the National Art Archive at the Art Gallery of New South Wales looks at the work of Anne Margaret ‘Meg’ Rutherford (1932–2006).
Rutherford was raised in Bathurst, NSW, the fifth child of graziers. From an early age, she showed a talent for observational drawing and a fondness for portraying animals. After graduating from the National Art School, Sydney, in 1957, she travelled to the United Kingdom and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, from which she graduated in sculpture and design in 1961.
For some years, Rutherford mended antiques to supplement her limited income as a sculptor. In the late 1960s, she explored new directions which led to the publishing of her first illustrative fantasy book, The beautiful island (1969). She has since contributed to over 77 titles, many of which have been translated into different languages.
In 2008, Rutherford’s archive was donated to the National Art Archive by her husband Amis Goldingham, and it is from this material that the display is drawn.