Useless Beauty: Flowers and Australian Art

"Ann Elias’s book, Useless Beauty is a fascinating examination of the many tensions, transactions and revelations in Australian art, involving art, gender, nature, and memory. Anyone believing that this is a study ‘just’ about floral fripperies will be pleasantly mistaken, for Elias shows the extent to which flowers can be used as an effective means of exposing issues which were central to Australian art until at least after the Second World War. [...] Useless Beauty is a patiently researched, lucidly written work of art historical scholarship that deserves a place in every serious library and on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in flower iconography. But it is also a refreshing work of Australian art history. To navigate this history afresh, refracted through flowers, is an enriching pleasure."Adam GeczyEyeline, 85 (2016)"Ann Elias convincingly argues for the ‘useless beauty’ of flowers and their significance in constructing a comprehensive and inclusive record of the art of Australia. Dancing elegantly through history to elucidate the role of flowers in imparting complex narratives of social life, celebrations, remembrance, attitudes to death, notions of gender, sexuality and cultural difference, she covers a wide territory with elegance and precision. Underlying her thesis is a deeper question about beauty and whether there is value in attending to its undoubted allure when making art, about flowers or anything else. The many illustrations prove her point."Professor Ted Snell, AM CitWADirector, Cultural Precinct, University of Western Australia"Who would think the flower painting genre could tell such a dynamic history of western art and elucidate the contradictions, social and political conditions of Australian culture. Through this clear and very readable account of the flower painting traditions in Australia, Ann Elias reveals the way these forms of ‘useless beauty’ give us insights into the moral and aesthetic polemics, the anxieties, desire, ambitions and aspirations of Australasian art and culture. This book takes us on a journey through the 20th century, recalling the roots of European traditions, the measures of taste and beauty that were dominant allegories for good living. Elias outlines the gendered political separation of art (useless beauty) and science, the true nature of things. All the more surprising is that artists such as Tom Roberts, George Lambert, Hans Heysen and Arthur Streeton gave such serious attention to the motif of the flower. We hear from Elias her rich insight and the many examples of the work of these heroic Australian painters, and see the care with which they attended to these gentle subjects."Professor Su BakerDirector, Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), University of Melbourne"There is a lot to like in this complex book by Sydney-based academic Ann Elias, whose research concentrates on visual representations of nature in art, science, and popular culture. [...] Garden historians will doubtless find many illuminating moments in Useless Beauty."Richard AitkenAuthor of Planting DreamsAustralian Garden History, 28:3 (2017)