{{short description|Australian painter and sculptor}} {{similar names|Anne Thompson (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox artist <!-- See Template:Infobox artist --> | name = Ann Thomson <!--| image = Rectangle example.svg--> <!--| caption = Ann Thomson at gallery opening--> | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1933}} <!--| death_date = {{death date and age |2010|01|01 |1950|01|01}} (death date then birth date)--> | field = Painting, Sculpture | training = National Art School | movement = Modernism, Abstract art | awards = Wynne Prize (1998) <!--| website = [http://www.example.com www.example.com]--> }}
'''Ann Thomson''' (born 1933) is an Australian painter and sculptor. She is best known for her large-scale public commissions ''Ebb Tide'' (1987) for the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and ''Australia Felix'' (1992) for the Seville World Expo.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=5 June 2012|title=Real riches to be found in an enduring and abstract vision|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/real-riches-to-be-found-in-an-enduring-and-abstract-vision-20120605-1zu2f.html|access-date=20 August 2020|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref> In 1998 she won the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Wynne Prize.<ref name=wynne1998>{{Cite web|title=Archibald Prize Wynne 1998 finalist: Yellow sound by Ann Thomson|url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/wynne/1998/21222/|access-date=20 August 2020|website=Art Gallery of New South Wales}}</ref> Her work is held in national and international collections, including: the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra;<ref>{{Cite web|title=NGA collection search results|url=https://artsearch.nga.gov.au/search.cfm|access-date=20 August 2020|website=artsearch.nga.gov.au}}</ref> Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Works matching "ann thomson" :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW|url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/?q=ann+thomson|access-date=20 August 2020|website=www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au}}</ref> Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid and Villa Haiss Museum, Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mitchellfineartgallery.com/artists/represented-artists/ann-thomson|title=Ann Thomson – Mitchell Fine Art, Brisbane.|website=www.mitchellfineartgallery.com|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=August 2020}}
==Early life and education== Ann Thomson was born in 1933 in Brisbane. She went to Somerville House, a private school in Brisbane also attended by Margaret Olley, Betty Churcher and art historian Joan Kerr.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Johnson|first=Anna|title=Ann Thomson|publisher=Tim Olsen Editions|year=2012|isbn=9780987269904|location=Woollahra|pages=36}}</ref> After school, she took painting classes with Richard Rodier Rivron and Jon Molvig.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Fridemanis|first=Helen|title=Contemporary Art Society: Queensland Branch. A study of the post-war emergence and dissemination of aesthetic modernism in Brisbane|publisher=Thesis submitted to the Department of History, Queensland University|year=1989|pages=14–16}}</ref> In 1957, Thomson moved to Sydney where she studied at the East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School), graduating in 1962.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.artistprofile.com.au/ann-thomson/|title=Ann Thomson|date=30 May 2016|website=Artist Profile|language=en-US|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> She focused on drawing, sculpture and painting. During her education, she was taught by Godfrey Miller, John Passmore, John Olsen, Lyndon Dadswell, David Strachan and Dorothy Thornhill.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Ann Thomson and Contemporaries|url=https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/4503/ann-thomson-and-contemporaries/|access-date=25 August 2020|website=Artlink Magazine|language=en}}</ref> While a young artist she also visited leading Australian modernist Ian Fairweather on Bribie Island, Queensland.<ref name=":1" />
==Career== Thomson sold her first painting through Clune Gallery, in Sydney.<ref name=":2" /> Her first commercial exhibition in 1965 was with Watters Gallery,<ref name=":2" /> Sydney, a significant venue for experimental works. In 1977, Thomson had a solo exhibition at the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
In 1983, Thomson's work ''Pentaplain'' was a finalist in the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Wynne Prize for landscape paintings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Archibald Prize Wynne 1983 finalist: Pentaplain by Ann Thomson|url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/wynne/1983/23494/|access-date=20 August 2020|website=www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au}}</ref> The work is part figurative, with references to built structures, and part abstract with large areas of blue and green. It combines aerial and horizontal perspectives. 15 years later, she won the Wynne Prize with her work ''Yellow sound''.<ref name=wynne1998/> This brilliant yellow oil on canvas combines various mark-making techniques including drips, layering and erasure. Her major commission ''Australia Felix'' was the central sculptural installation for the Australian Pavilion at the 1992 World Expo in Seville.<ref name="CN"/> The 11-metre wide work was subsequently installed at Sydney Darling Harbour.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sculpture called Australia-Felix at pier seven Darling Harbour...|url=https://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/news-photo/sculpture-called-australia-felix-at-pier-seven-darling-news-photo/1081565564|access-date=20 August 2020|website=Getty Images|date=12 December 2018 |language=en-us}}</ref> She has also won the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize (2002), and the Tattersall's Art Prize, Brisbane (2016).<ref name =CN>{{Cite web|title=Ann Thomson|url=https://www.charlesnodrumgallery.com.au/artists/ann-thomson/ann-thomson/|access-date=20 August 2020|website=Charles Nodrum Gallery|language=en}}</ref>
In 2015 she was honoured with a Fellowship by the National Art School, Sydney.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fellows|url=https://nas.edu.au/fellows/|access-date=20 August 2020|website=National Art School|language=en-US}}</ref> NAS followed this with an exhibition titled ''Ann Thomson and Contemporaries''.<ref name=":4" /> The two-level gallery dedicated the upper floor to Thomson.<ref name=":4" /> Craig Judd favourably reviewed the exhibition, writing: "''Ann Thomson and Contemporaries'' is a richly enjoyable exhibition". It "confirms without doubt the stature of Ann Thomson within the canons of Australian abstract art as teacher, mentor and leader".<ref name=":4" />
In 2020, Thomson was among 500 artists calling on the Australian Government to support creatives through COVID-19.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Open letter: Australia's artists call for Government action|url=https://visualarts.net.au/news-opinion/2020/open-letter-government/|access-date=25 August 2020|website=NAVA|language=en}}</ref>
As of 2012, Thomson was painting every day, generally working on multiple canvases at once and painting from memory, rather than directly from real life. Her earlier works were aligned with Abstract expressionism, while her later works oscillate between abstraction and figuration, taking inspiration from the landscape. Thomson says: "I don't feel as though I am totally abstract" and "I might abstract something but I don't just paint shapes".<ref name=":1" />
Thomson continues to exhibit, making for a career of solo exhibitions that extends beyond half a century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ann Thomson|url=https://www.charlesnodrumgallery.com.au/artists/ann-thomson/|access-date=20 August 2020|website=Charles Nodrum Gallery|language=en}}</ref>
==Recognition and awards== *1976: David Jones Art Prize, Brisbane<ref name="Drury1992">{{cite book |last1=Drury |first1=Nevill |title=Images in Contemporary Australian Painting |date=1992 |publisher=Craftsman House |location=Australia |isbn=978-976-8097-33-0 |pages=148–149 |url=https://archive.org/details/imagesincontempo0000drur/page/148/ |access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> *1978: Visual Arts Board Grant to Cité internationale des Arts, Paris{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1980: Visual Arts Board Grant{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1981: Winner, ''Canberra Times'' National Art Award<ref name="Drury1992"/> *1984: University of New South Wales Purchase Prize{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1985: ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' Art Prize{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1986: John McCaughey Prize<ref>Eva Breuer, art dealer, [http://www.evabreuerartdealer.com.au/cv/thomson_ann_bio.html Ann Thomson Biography] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20040713171757/http://www.evabreuerartdealer.com.au/cv/thomson_ann_bio.html |date=2004-07-13 }}, retrieved July 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Ann Thomson :: biography | website= Design and Art Australia Online | date=15 July 2011 | url=https://daao.org.au/bio/ann-thomson/recognitions/ | access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref> *1998: Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney<ref name=wynne1998/> *2002: Geelong Contemporary Art Prize for ''Change Takes Time''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Artrave|url=https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/2666/artrave/|access-date=25 August 2020|website=Artlink Magazine|language=en}}</ref> *2005: Kedumba Drawing Prize{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *2017: Tattersalls Art Prize, Brisbane.<ref name =CN />
==Major exhibitions== *1965: Watters Gallery, Sydney<ref name=":2" /> *1973: Gallery One Eleven, Brisbane{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1974: Gallery A, Sydney{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1977: Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1977: Gallery A, Sydney{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1979: Gallery A, Sydney{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1980: Monash University, Melbourne{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1982: Gallery A, Sydney{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1988: Australian Galleries, Melbourne{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1989: Australian Galleries, Melbourne{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1992: Australian Galleries, Sydney{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1993: Australian Galleries, Melbourne, in conjunction with Meridian Sculpture Gallery{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1993: Art Gallery of NSW Sculpture 'Australia Felix'{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} *1994: Australian Galleries, Sydney{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.mitchellfineartgallery.com/artists/represented-artists/ann-thomson Mitchell Fine A] *[https://www.mitchellfineartgallery.com/artists/represented-artists/ann-thomson Art Gallery webpage] * [https://www.artistprofile.com.au/ann-thomson/ Artist Profile] * [https://www.charlesnodrumgallery.com.au/artists/ann-thomson/ Charles Nodrum Gallery] * [http://collection.qagoma.qld.gov.au/qag/imu.php?request=load&count=20&PublishOnIMuInternet=Y&CreCreatorLocal_tab=%20Thomson,%20Ann Ann Thomson QAGOMA Collection holdings] * [https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/artsets/owt77r Art Gallery of NSW 'The art that made me: Ann Thomson' post]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Ann}} Category:Living people Category:1933 births Category:Artists from Brisbane Category:20th-century Australian painters Category:Australian modern painters Category:People educated at Somerville House Category:20th-century Australian women painters