Heroes of Colonial Encounters - Arthur Phillip

Artist Helen S Tiernan (born 1952)

Date2017

Object number00055146

NamePainting

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 305 × 305 × 40 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionAn oil painting of Arthur Phillip by artist Helen Tiernan as part of a series of works titled 'Heroes of Colonial Encounters'. Arthur Phillip was the first Governor of New South Wales and Commander of the First Fleet on its arrival to Australia. He is depicted here in full naval regalia. HistoryThis painting of Arthur Phillip by Helen Tiernan is based on the 1786 portrait by Francis Wheatley. As part of a series of portraits that make up 'Heroes of Colonial Encounters', this portrait of Arthur Phillip is part of Helen Tiernan's exploration of the singular European view of colonial history and the way Indigenous peoples are depicted as the 'primitive' or 'other'. The portraits she paints of Bennelong, Bungaree, Colby, Bidgee Bidgee, Ballodere and Tommy sees them treated equally as their European contemporaries such as Cook, Joseph Banks, William Bligh, Arthur Philip and Matthew Flinders. All portraits are to hang together on the same wall, equally ornate, equal in style and equal in history. SignificanceThis work is significant in providing a dual perspective of histories and first encounters in Australia and through the Pacific. Most post-colonial art takes its subject from earlier colonial times, but this doesn’t mean their interests are purely historical. To the contrary, the point of post-colonialism is to show how many unresolved issues from colonial history are embedded in the present.