Biographical material, 1930s-1988

 
Component identifier:
Series 12
Content Summary:

A varied grouping of notes, clippings, writings and student theses covering different aspects of and episodes in Counihan's life, including photocopied pages from ASIO and Australian Federal Police files which were used to monitor his activities.

Amongst other material, the series contains some important notes by Pat Counihan on events on her husband's life and a description of his personal library in the early 1940s. Also of interest are papers about the self-styled 'grand tour' Counihan undertook with Judah Waten of regional Australia in 1935-36. During their travels through Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, Counihan sketched portraits and caricatures of local identities, whilst Waten acted as his manager.

In addition, a folder of notes and newspaper reports document a speech made by Counihan from an iron cage in Sydney Road, Brunswick in May 1933. The artist's plea for freedom of expression attracted large crowds, as well as numerous police who forced their way into the cage with a battering ram. Counihan was arrested and placed in remand at Pentridge Prison, but the charges against him were later quashed in court.

Immediate source of acquisition:
In addition to the large body of papers amassed by Noel Counihan during his lifetime, his widow Pat continued to maintain records of exhibitions, books, correspondence and articles concerning her husband's art and career after his death in 1986. The resultant collection, which bears her numerous annotations, was extensively drawn upon by Bernard Smith for his biography Noel Counihan : artist and revolutionary (1993). Following publication of his study, Smith helped coordinate the transfer of the Counihan Papers to the Library, which were received in a single consignment in 1996.
Names:
Noel Counihan

Contents

Access and use

Parent Restrictions:
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn68604).
Parent Terms of Access:
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: