‘Daub’ 1947, 1948 and 1949: The Magazine Produced by Students of the National Gallery of Art School

Daub was a magazine written and illustrated by students of the National Gallery of Art School, now the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in the 1940s.[1] Then located in the State Library of Victoria building, painting instruction for the School took place in a long, light bathed studio overlooking Little Lonsdale Street in the city[2]. The 3^rd edition of the student magazine published annually from 1947 till 1961, DAUB (1949) is one object in the 44 boxes of the Lucy Kerley collection, which spans 9.42 kilometres. Generously illustrated with artworks, stories and poems by the current students, these documents are a rich source of the juvenilia produced by Melbourne’s artists of the 1940s and they give a glimpse into the life of the Art School and its students in the bustle of post-war Melbourne.

Lucy Kerley (student 1941-1946) was a scientist, painter, and honorary librarian and unofficial archivist of the National Gallery Art School, which eventually became the foundational school of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in 1973. With records dating between 1870 – 1990s, the collection comprises ephemera, drawings, art works, exhibition catalogues, student magazines, amongst many others. A research scientist by profession, Kerley was also a student in the National Gallery Art School (1941-1946) and was involved in the production and editing of the student magazine from 1945 – 1954. With a vested interest in the history of the school, she was appointed as a Member of The Order of the British Empire (Civil) in 1974 for her work with the National Gallery Art School.

Posts

The beginnings of a brilliant career by Catherine Nunn

What changes? What makes an artist? by Diana Tay

“Well, well! What an unenviable job judging must be!” — dissenting reports from the 1947 Travelling Scholarship and Art School Prizes by Mihai Bacaran

Impoverished Artists by Laurence Marvin S. Castillo

References

[1]  Colour on Parade: National Art Gallery Student Magazine (University Archive Items 2/4 – 2/5) was first published in 1945. In 1947 the magazine changed its name to Daub (Items 2/6 – 2/14) and was published annually until 1961.

[2] Macnaughton 2004, p. 6.