Objects of Substance - Giddy and Guileless Grammar Girls Acr

1964 Artist Jill Lang, December BGGS Magazine p18.

Finally, and not least, we have this vibrant 1964 cartoon of a projected 1965 Boarders’ life of leisure in the confines of their sitting room. The artist, Jill Lang, explained that the sitting room was something new to the boarding house and it was senior students who lobbied hard for this space and its design, a small concession in the confines of boarding life as it was then. Dressed in uniform, both day school and sporting, the depiction of music, dancing, sewing, indoor sport and spilt coffee gives us an inside view of boarding life, with the day girl peeking through the window, perhaps wondering what was happening on the other side of school life. Works like this are essential clues to the changing life of the school which for so long, until 2001, provided residence for students from outside of Brisbane to have the advantage of a Grammar education. The treasure trove of cartoon sketches from students across the history of the school provides us with insights into student life in all its dynamics. These clever sketches transport us into the living moments and memories of the school across the years.

Lorraine Thornquist (Williams, 1967)

Manager, Fine Arts Collection

References

BGGS School Magazines 1964

Doreen Yeates Album Collection 1965 and 1966

Power, I. (nee Richard) Email correspondence 27/05/2024