Susan Dorothea White Bibliography

Sydney as Our Artists See It

Sydney is a little bit of Paris, a bleak, red-brick suburban blight, a sweep of sail on a blue harbour and a city where children have nowhere to play. They’re some of the answers judges received when they asked artists to paint their vision of “the spirit of Sydney”.

Out of 373 entries no two visions were alike, which goes to prove that the spirit of Sydney is a cosmopolitan soul. To some it’s warm and welcoming, to others it’s completely daunting, according to Mrs Barbara Firth, a member of the City of Sydney Cultural Council which organised the competition. At least 80 people who entered the competition failed to produce a painting.

“People get used to submitting paintings for portrait and landscape competitions. This is the first time artists were asked to paint a single theme and some of the entrants admitted they were overwhelmed by the subject matter.”

The winner of the $5,000 prize, presented by the Premier, Mr Wran, at David Jones’ Art Gallery on Friday night, was John Firth-Smith with a cool, tranquil painting called First Out on the Beach. The $2,500 scholarship went to Paul E. Jones, whose last commission was posters for the Paddington Festival. The competition, sponsored by The Sydney Morning Herald, will be an annual event.

Susan White’s From the Fifth Floor criticised the lack of playing space for children.