Reviewed by Bill Rathmell
Whenever I go to an art gallery or museum show, I buy the catalogue (or I don’t) on the basis of the “wow” factor of the display. I usually also choose an object that I would like to acquire and display in my home (if I had the chance). In April, I and other members of the Oceanic Art Society committee got the opportunity to visit Bill Evans’s home in Paddington, where his world-class collection of shields from Island South East Asia, Australia and Melanesia is displayed – and the “wow” factor there is, literally, overwhelming. Many of the shields on display are in his two volume privately-published account, War Art and Ritual (reviewed by Crispin Howarth and by Jim Elmslie in issues 1 and 2 respectively of the 2020 Journal of the Oceanic Art Society [OAS]). Whilst these books are not a catalogue of Bill’s collection, most of us bought copies to have a detailed reminder of an intensive experience.
Bill Evans, a founder member of the OAS, has spent much of his life in the study of, and dealing in, Oceanic Art. His gripping, almost non-stop description of the numerous shields in his collection, and the anecdotes associated with them, would have held our interest for much longer than the time the Committee had available. Fortunately, the books contain eight scholarly accounts of most of the types currently represented in his home – from Borneo, Bali, the Moluccas, west Papua, and PNG – so we can complete our education at leisure. Fortunately, also, Bill has said that all members of the OAS are welcome to pay his collection a visit (by arrangement) – if you would be interested in joining a group for a repeat visit write to [email protected] stating which days (and at what time) would suit you best.
The piece that I would have most liked to take home was actually one of Bill’s impressive collection of Aboriginal (Western Desert) shields, displayed in the entrance hall of his beautiful home. I first fell in love with this material in late 2019 at QAGOMA in Brisbane, where some shields loaned by Bill were prominently featured. Bill told us that he is planning to publish his Aboriginal shields collection in the near future in two new publications – watch this space!
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