'Chinese Woman' By George Gittoes, Winner of the Sydney Peace Prize 2015

The painting has very generously been donated by Dr Neville Dawson (formally head of the Art Department, Newington College), to the Cornucopia Art Group to raise funds to line and make possum proof, the Art Shed, the aspirational studio for the art group. The Cornucopia Art Group have been painting and exhibiting in this café, on the site of the beautiful old Gladesville Hospital, for the last 15 years. For Sale $11000 Oil on linen. 1998 The ‘Chinese Woman’ was painted while Gittoes was working in China and can be seen, filmed, in the artist’s studio in the ABC documentary ‘I Witness’, (the documentary can be purchased from the ABC bookshop.) Emails by the artist to the current owner are part of its provenance. This painting was part of a major retrospective exhibition in 2012 at Newington College. Gittoes won the Peace Prize this year “for exposing injustice for more than 45 years as a humanist artist, activist and film make; for his courage to witness and confront violence in the war zones of the world; for enlisting the arts to subdue aggression and for enlivening the creative spirit to promote tolerance, respect and peace with justice” Art historian Dr Rod Pattenden says: "His images pry open the door to a conversation about what it means to be human at the very limits, where petty myths, tired illusions and worn-out symbols collapse. This is the dare at the heart of his practice - to activate the imagination rather than fear, and to create hope in the face of chaos." "I feel privileged to have been able to spend much of my life creating beauty in the face of the destruction of war," says Gittoes. "I have been waging a personal war against war with art." Gittoes has twice been awarded ‘The Blake Prize’ for religious art, in 1995 and 2005. The Australian Financial Review recently highlighted him as a sound art investment, stating that his works, which sell for between $10,000 and $120,000 are under-valued. The State Library of NSW recently acquired his diaries for $400,000. Please contact Jan Corbishley Create Team 0410410238 or 02 9816 0329 The Painting will be on display at The Cornucopia Cafe, Gladeville Hospital, Gladesville NSW