'Australia' tapestry designed by Jean Lurcat, woven in France
Object No. 88/321
This commemorative 'Australia' tapestry is a major late work by Jean Lurcat (1892-1965), leader of the revival of tapestry in France and master of 20th century French tapestry design. It was commissioned for Anzac House, College Street, Sydney (demolished 1988), the State War Memorial to the servicemen and women of NSW who served in World War II from 1939 to 1945. The tapestry was woven by Suzanne Goubely-Gatien at the renowned Aubusson factory in France. Designed in three emblematic horizontal bands, the tapestry symbolises the Australian Imperial Forces and the part played by them in wars throughout the world. Fish and marine life represent the Navy, flora and fauna in the central band represent the Army, and the birds and sky represent the Air Force. At the centre of the tapestry is a large sun, within which appears the Southern Cross constellation, a branch of wattle and faces symbolising Australian youth who lost their lives on the battlefields. The sun glows against a black background highlighted with the stars of the Southern Hemisphere, including the Milky Way. Importantly, the tapestry also represents the sacrifices made by the men and women of New South Wales during the Second World War. Lurcat's tapestry hung in the Hall of Remembrance at Anzac House from 1962 to 1987, alongside an eternal flame. Public access to the tapestry was limited however from the early 70s, when the Hall of Remembrance was locked after youthful Vietnam war protesters burnt their fathers' World War II uniforms on the eternal flame. The Anzac House Trust moved to Kent Street in Sydney in 1987. In 1988, the 'Australia' tapestry was presented to the Powerhouse Museum by the Anzac House Trust, who represented the Returned Services League of Australia (NSW Branch), as a bicentennial gift to the people of New South Wales. Christina Sumner Curator Decorative Arts & Design
Loading...
Summary
Object Statement
Tapestry, 'Australia', wool/cotton, designed by Jean Lurcat for Anzac House, woven by Suzanne Goubely-Gatien, Aubusson, France, 1960-1961
Physical Description
Large tapestry, woven in plain weft-face tapestry weave, using fine wool wefts on a heavier cotton warp. The design, on a black ground, features a central sun motif with multicoloured designs of Australian flora and fauna that symbolise the Australian Imperial Forces. The work is designed in three emblematic horizontal bands; in the upper band are birds symbolising the Air Force, in the middle band are animals and flowers symbolising the Army, and in the lower band are fish and marine life symbolising the Navy. The centre of the tapestry is occupied by the large yellow sun, within which are the Southern Cross constellation, wattle, and the faces of Australian youth symbolising those who died on the battlefields of World War II. In the black background behind the sun are the stars of the southern hemisphere and the Milky Way. The weaver's monogram 'CG' is woven into the lower right corner, and a label with the designer's name, the artist's signature and related information is stitched to the back of the tapestry. Accompanying the object is an inscribed bronze plaque mounted on a wooden backing board with a pedestal stand; the inscription on the plaque provides information about the tapestry.
DIMENSIONS
Height
3480 mm
Width
6875 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
This commemorative 'Australia' tapestry is an outstanding late work by Jean Lurcat, who was born in Bruyere, France in 1892 and died in 1965. Lurcat was a master of modern French tapestry design and led the dynamic revival of tapestry weaving as an art form both inside and outside France. From 1917, contemporary tapestries designed by Lurcat, including a large tapestry that commemorated the resistance movement in France, received world-wide acclaim. For centuries, tapestry weaving had been seen and understood as a medium for reproducing paintings, the more realistically the better. Thanks to the revolution in tapestry design led by Jean Lurcat, tapestries were no longer expected to imitate paintings; on the contrary, tapestry design is now an art form in its own right. The techniques of traditional tapestry weaving are however still followed, although contemporary practitioners are generally free to interpret the design individually and exploit subtleties of colour and yarn texture. The tapestry was woven in plain weft-face tapestry weave using fine wool wefts on a heavy cotton warp, by Suzanne Coubely-Gatien at the renowned Aubusson factory in France. In tapestry weave, discontinuous wefts in selected colours are woven to and fro to form the different elements of the design; these wefts interlock with those of the adjacent, differently coloured design elements and are beaten down firmly to cover the warps completely and so form weft-faced cloth.
HISTORY
Notes
The 'Australia' tapestry was commissioned by Anzac House Trust, Sydney (representing the Returned Services League of Australia, NSW Branch) as the state's war memorial to the men and women of NSW who served (died?) in World War II (1939-1945). Walter Bunning, one of the architects of the Anzac House building in College Street, Sydney initiated contact with Lurcat in 1956 with regard to designing a tapestry for Anzac House. The Anzac House Trust agreed to the commission and Lurcat's design proposal was received and approved in December 1960. The tapestry was woven in France between 1960 and 1962 and was hung on the eastern wall in the Hall of Remembrance at Anzac House in College Street, Sydney on 10 August 1962. An eternal flame burned in front of it. From the early 1970s however, the Hall of Remembrance was locked after young Vietnam War protesters burned their fathers' World War II uniforms on the eternal flame. Thereafter the tapestry was on limited display only at Anzac House. In 1987, the Anzac House Trust moved to Kent Street in Sydney. A year later the 'Australia' tapestry was presented to the Powerhouse Museum as a Bicentennial gift to the people of New South Wales.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of the Anzac House Trust, 1988
Acquisition Date
12 April 1988
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
Image Licensing Enquiry
Object Enquiry