Rethinking Australia’s Art History

Susan Lowish is Lecturer in Australian Art History at the University of Melbourne.

• Introduction 1. Writing a History of Encounters 2. Exploration and ‘Discovery’ 3. Searching for the Origin of Art 4. Seeing the Art of the First Australians 5. Evolutionists and Australian Aboriginal Art 6. ‘Aboriginal Art’ in the Writings of Baldwin Spencer 7. Collecting and Exhibiting: the Dawn of ‘Primitive Art’ Conclusion

Winner of the 2019 Art Association of Australia & New Zealand's Best Book Prize"Tracing the development of the category of ‘Aboriginal Art’ in the European imagination, Dr Lowish tackles one of the central questions confronting Australian art history and does this with originality and academic integrity. It is a very intelligent publication that is lucid in its expression and accessible to most readers. There is very solid and scrupulous scholarship that lies at the core of this exceptional publication."--AAANZ prize committee"Rethinking Australia’s Art History tells of the fascinating pre-history of an art movement that will emerge victorious from the shadows of racism and conquest. Lowish’s book is a crucial reference point for anyone interested in making sense of how concepts of Aboriginality came to dominate the interpretation of art from frontiers of Australian colonisation."--Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art"The book will be valued by scholars of Aboriginal art, Aboriginal studies, Australian art history, the history and philosophy of science, and art historiography. The breadth of sources and the defined focus of the study do indeed allow for a rethinking of Australia’s art history. May it stimulate more research into the period from 1788 to 1929, challenge and refine current cannons on Aboriginal art, and provoke a lively debate within art history!"--Journal of Art Historiography