William T Cooper

Botanical art of the tropical rainforest

28 Aug 2021 –
13 Feb 2022


William T Cooper (1934–2015) was notable as a painter of birds, however he was also a masterful botanical artist, producing botanical illustrations of rainforest fruits and hundreds of drawings of plants that were produced opportunistically for potential use in paintings.

This exhibition brings together over 100 works, many of which have not been on public exhibition before, from private collections around Australia and the collections of the State Library of New South Wales and the National Library of Australia. To strengthen the educational component of the exhibition, many of the works in the exhibition will be displayed together with botanical specimens from the collection of the Australian Tropical Herbarium at James Cook University.

 

Image: William T Cooper, Victoria’s Riflebirds at Topaz (on Topaz Tamarind Synima macrophylla) (detail), 1993, synthetic polymer paint on canvas on board, Private collection, Hobart

 

 

A Cairns Art Gallery exhibition

Selected Works

 

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