Scholarly and beautifully illustrated, including up-close details of the tapestries, this magnificent hardback is the perfect way to experience Arthur Boyd’s miraculous tapestries. A renowned figure in Australian art, Arthur Boyd is particularly well known for his paintings. His tapestries, however, are hidden gems that have received relatively little attention. Boyd’s series of 20 textiles known as the Life of St Francis (197274) are particularly awe-inspiring in their vision, scale and artistry. On the occasion of the National Gallery exhibition Arthur Boyd: tapestries, which exhibits the cycle all together for the very first time, this stunningly illustrated book unpicks this textile cycle’s fascinating context, and weaves the story of their miraculous creation through Boyd’s collaboration with the renowned tapestry workshop Manufactura de Tapecarias de Portalegre in Portugal. The book includes full reproductions of the tapestries and elucidates Boyd’s idiosyncratic and humanist interpretation on the life of Saint Francis. The first essay by Elspeth Pitt, Senior Curator, Australian Art, dives poetically into Boyd’s background and his use of biblical and literary sources as vehicles for artistic expression.
