(top) Henry Francis (Frank) Hinder (Sydney, Australia 1906-1992 Sydney, Australia), South Coast near Lake Conjola, 1938, Watercolor, 17 1/2 in. x 21 in., Gift of the Estate of Nelda and Douglas McDermott 2018.68

(bottom) Bronwyn Bancroft  (b. 1958 New South Wales, Australia), Tears of the Land, 1994, Silkscreen, 28 in. x 36 1/2 in., Gift of the Estate of Nelda and Douglas McDermott 2018.61

The Davis Museum recently received a generous gift of twenty-two works by Australian artists from the estate of Nelda and Douglas McDermott. The group of modern and contemporary paintings, drawings, and prints includes works by significant artists that are underrepresented in the U.S. This gift has greatly strengthened the Davis Museum’s small collection of Australian art., previously comprising only four objects, which now encompasses a diverse range of material by artists working in Australia of both Aboriginal and European descent, with a focus on women. A prominent artist in the European tradition, Frank Hinder was a proponent of cubism and constructivism. He advocated for the importance of abstract art, and was a founding member of the Contemporary Art Society in Sydney. His watercolor South Coast near Lake Conjola displays his growing interest in the Australian landscape during the 1930s. The collection also features the work of the contemporary urban-based indigenous artist Bronwyn Bancroft from the Bundjalung Nation. Her colorful and graphic work focuses on reaffirming the diverse experiences among indigenous Australian people and explores topics of family, memory, and heritage. Characteristic of Bancroft’s style, Tears of the Land depicts animals and plant forms both above and below the ground level, forming a single ecosystem.