Autobiographical book by Noel Sheridan with contributions from Donald Brook, George Alexander and others Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2001, 212pp, colour
Introducting the final episode of 'This is Modern Art', his six-part television series which screened in Australia in 2000, Matthew Collings seemed ridden with apocalyptic feelings about the whole thing wrapping up. For five weeks he had come into our homes at night like kind of groovy art dad to deliver his version of the story of art from Picasso to the young British artists.
While only a small percentage of national enterprises are based in the west, business leaders have a tradition of serious interest in the visual arts, with a number owning fine collections which they are prepared to share with the public. The three collections featured here all include contemporary Western Australian art - a form of patronage local artists can instantly appreciate. The associated catalogues and books produced are an enduring form of patronage which provide a much needed record of art in Western Australia.