‘The Measuring Artist’ indulges one of Garry Shead’s key motifs – the muse. In it, an artist raises his paintbrush to measure a model, languidly nude on a chair. Implicitly present is Erato, the Ancient Greek muse for erotic poetry and hymns, and a haunting figure in Shead’s work.

In the words of art historian Sasha Grishin, “Shead felt himself to be one of the few who consciously sought out Erato”. His work constantly dances with the tension between distraction and inspiration, finding Erato in the biographical, literary and spiritual. So vital did Shead believe inspiration was to a fulfilling life, he once quoted Dostoevsky: “The world will be saved by beauty.”

Collected by all public institutions, Shead has won the Archibald and Dobell prizes. ‘The Measuring Artist’ will delight collectors of iconic Australian art, as well as all in need of inspiration.

Garry SHEAD (1942 - )
'The Measuring Artist' 2003
oil on board
Image Size: 38 x 46 cm
Dimensions: 58 x 66 x 5 cm
Signed: Signed in lower right
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Literature:
Grishin, S., Accounting for Taste: The Lowensteins Arts Management Collection, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2013, p. 57 (illus.)

Condition: Excellent

(c) Garry Shead / Copyright Agency