Art exhibition in 1968

Today I am going to write about art and a significant event that occurred at Ettalong March 2 and 3, 1968.

Woy Woy Apex Club decided to stage an art exhibition, ostensibly to raise funds but also to give local artists an opportunity to show and sell their paintings.

The CWA Hall at Ettalong was the chosen venue being centrally located and considered large enough for the public to comfortably view the works.

Invitations went out to local artists to submit their work, and the response was quite extraordinary.

Not only were established and commercially successful artists keen to show their works, entries were also submitted by the Noonameena Art Club, Charles Swancott, Neal Jesperson and Thomas Boyd.

All in all, some 42 artists contributed to the exhibition.

The highlight of the exhibition was several marvellous paintings submitted by the late Lance Solomon who lived for many years in Calypta Road, Umina.

Lance won the prestigious Wynn Prize on two occasions.

In 1958, his oil painting Blue Lagoon was chosen by the State Government for presentation to the Queen Mother during her tour of Australia.

Another of his paintings was presented to the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at the official opening of the Royal Easter Show.

His paintings are held in almost every gallery in Australia and in numerous private and corporate collections.

Prior to the exhibition, a catalogue containing a brief synopsis of each artist was prepared and printed, and various people prominent in the art world were contacted to lend their support.

Knowing that Russell Drysdale, one of our greatest and much loved artists, had recently moved into his new home at Killcare, I had the temerity to contact him to see whether he would be interested in being involved in some way.

He declined but, much to our surprise, he spontaneously invited me and my "bride" to dinner with his wife Maisie to discuss what Apex had in mind.

Even though we knew very little about art, what followed was one of the most memorable evenings we have ever experienced.

There was a blazing fire at the end of the lounge room, with one wall completely covered with shelves containing hundreds (if not thousands) of beautiful books.

Maisie was a former librarian.

The eastern side was almost totally glass thus affording them a magnificent view of the valley beyond covered in eucalyptus trees and other native vegetation.

The official opening of the exhibition was conducted by Pixie O'Harris, in the presence of Ted Humphries MLA, and the Club's President, Rodney Moyes.

A capacity crowd of 200 was present at the opening, and more than 600 people visited the exhibition over the weekend, with many of the paintings finding new homes.

Pixie O'Harris, who was described at the time as Australia's best loved artist, was responsible for many of the delightful murals of fairies and elves in schools and children's wards in hospitals throughout the state.

Many who attended the exhibition said afterwards that it had awakened their interest in art and they had no idea there was such an abundance of talent on the coast.

Before I finish I should mention that one lady exhibitor, Elsie Winkle, can still be found every first Saturday of the month outside the Ettalong paper shop where she has become something of an institution.

She is always busy painting or finishing off another work in progress, but she readily stops to answer questions from locals and tourists alike with her usual happy smile.

Letter, 12 Mar 2010 Fred Landman, Daley's Point