Ethel Carrick explores and celebrates this remarkable artist who contributed significantly to Australian and international art for over 50 years. Carrick's work radiates with luminous light, colour and energy; predominantly focusing on crowds, in all their diversity and interconnection. This publication will accompany the National Gallery exhibition Ethel Carrick, which will be the first retrospective of her work in over 40 years, the most comprehensive to date, and will shine new light on her life and works.

Carrick (18721952) was a truly transnational artist who was born in Britain and lived and worked primarily in France and Australia. She was one of the first post-impressionist artists to exhibit in Australia, and yet her significant artistic contributions and amazing life story are not known to a wide audience.

Deborah Hart, Head Curator, Australian Art, passionately guides the reader through an absorbing, thorough and richly visual exploration of Ethel's life and art. Supported by seven focus essays, expert contributors cover such diverse topics as her affectionate and iconic portrayals of Manly Beach and the modern surfer girl, her North African travels, and her remarkable artistic records and philanthropy during World War II. This publication includes new research illuminates an artist who has been too long overshadowed.

Bursting with the vibrant colour that so characterises her work, this gorgeous volume is designed with Carrickesque modernity. Very generously illustrated large reproductions and details of paintings allow the reader to appreciate their stunning detail to full effect.