Australian modernist Dorothy Braund pursued simplicity. As she described, it “knocked” her out – “there’s no chance for accidental effects. If you are simple everything has to relate and work” – an ethos that produced work that was more musical than literal, hymns about people, places and activities.

Braund found formal opportunities everywhere she looked, including in the arrangement of glasses, plates and a jug. This still life, an original gouache on paper, is reminiscent of the work of Paul Cezanne. Its palette is warm and composition musical, shapes tumbling across the page. As art critic Bernard Shaw observed of Braund’s work in 1964, it is “linked with a shrewd and civilised eye for the bizarre and comical” – simple does not necessitate seriousness.

Represented across state collections including at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of South Australia, Braund was a key figure in Australian modernism. She was a member of the George Bell School and the only woman to exhibit alongside Charles Blackman and his compatriots at the 1953 Herald Art Show. Masterly in her own way, she is an essential – and joyous – addition to collections of modern, still life and female artists.

Dorothy BRAUND (1926 - 2013)
'Still Life' 1989
Gouache on paper
Image Size: 20 x 44 cm
Dimensions: 47 x 71 x 3 cm
Signed: Signed dated lower right: Braund 89
 
Comes with Letter of Provenance
 
Condition: Very good
 
(c) Dorothy Braund / Copyright Agency