views + reviews
Elaine Haxton: A colourful artist and life
The Canberra Times: 4 July 2021
By Sasha Grishin, Emeritus Professor, ANU
“A major, comprehensive publication on the work of the Sydney-based artist Elaine Haxton (1909–1999) has been long overdue and this beautifully produced and profusely illustrated monograph by Lorraine Penny McLoughlin has been worth the wait.”
“A major, comprehensive publication on the work of the Sydney-based artist Elaine Haxton (1909–1999) has been long overdue and this beautifully produced and profusely illustrated monograph by Lorraine Penny McLoughlin has been worth the wait.”
Independent review: 8 June 2021
By Winnie Peltz AM
“Elaine Haxton was not ‘of her time’… and yet she was an amazing trailblazer and made the absolute MOST of ‘her time’, seizing every opportunity that came her way… and making opportunities when they didn’t exist.
Her life and how she lived it was her art. That sense of total immersion and being driven by some internal power that propels you to a destiny that is almost beyond your control.
McLoughlin’s writing and ability to bring the personality of Haxton to life is one of the strongest elements that makes this book worthy of adding to the emerging history of women artists in Australia. It’s an engrossing story.”
“Elaine Haxton was not ‘of her time’… and yet she was an amazing trailblazer and made the absolute MOST of ‘her time’, seizing every opportunity that came her way… and making opportunities when they didn’t exist.
Her life and how she lived it was her art. That sense of total immersion and being driven by some internal power that propels you to a destiny that is almost beyond your control.
McLoughlin’s writing and ability to bring the personality of Haxton to life is one of the strongest elements that makes this book worthy of adding to the emerging history of women artists in Australia. It’s an engrossing story.”
Sydney Arts Guide: 11 March 2021
By Lynne Lancaster
“Where did (Haxton) get the energy from?
Art was her life. This is a large, beautifully, lavishly illustrated coffee table book about the fascinating life of Elaine Haxton, excellently researched…”
“Where did (Haxton) get the energy from?
Art was her life. This is a large, beautifully, lavishly illustrated coffee table book about the fascinating life of Elaine Haxton, excellently researched…”
Excerpt from the foreword of Elaine Haxton: A colourful artist and life
By Adam Wynn, Winemaker, Honorary Consul-General of Japan in South Australia
“On the wall in our own house by the sea is a painting I’ve lived with all my life. It shows three fanciful and colourful nuns, one with a parasol wading in the shallows on a hot day, with their habits indiscreetly hiked up. I love this painting, which is pure Elaine, pretty and more than a little cheeky. In her lifetime she never quite achieved the level of fame and superstar status of some of her contemporaries. I believe this is because much of the art of the time, and indeed now, was angst ridden, slightly morbid and often confronting. There was none of this in Elaine’s work. Her artworks were joyous, whimsical and beautiful.
Lorraine McLoughlin has crafted a splendid book that gives deep insights as it chronicles this lovely, lively person and her excellent works. I am personally thrilled that Elaine’s life and art are gaining the greater recognition they so richly deserve…”
“On the wall in our own house by the sea is a painting I’ve lived with all my life. It shows three fanciful and colourful nuns, one with a parasol wading in the shallows on a hot day, with their habits indiscreetly hiked up. I love this painting, which is pure Elaine, pretty and more than a little cheeky. In her lifetime she never quite achieved the level of fame and superstar status of some of her contemporaries. I believe this is because much of the art of the time, and indeed now, was angst ridden, slightly morbid and often confronting. There was none of this in Elaine’s work. Her artworks were joyous, whimsical and beautiful.
Lorraine McLoughlin has crafted a splendid book that gives deep insights as it chronicles this lovely, lively person and her excellent works. I am personally thrilled that Elaine’s life and art are gaining the greater recognition they so richly deserve…”
For further information, book or art sales, or to visit Eliza Cottage at 8 Daniels Road, Yankalilla, please contact us:
Lorraine McLoughlin +61 408 400 010 or fitzmcl@fitzmcl.com
Peter Fitzgerald +61 438 151 432 or peterlawrief@icloud.com
Lorraine McLoughlin +61 408 400 010 or fitzmcl@fitzmcl.com
Peter Fitzgerald +61 438 151 432 or peterlawrief@icloud.com
For online book sales visit Freestyle Publications