Since 2001, Dr Margaret Mittelheuser AM (1931-2013) and Dr Cathryn Mittelheuser AM have supported the acquisition of more than 100 works for the QAGOMA Collection, and their sustained and generous patronage places them among the Gallery’s most consistent and longstanding donors. The sisters’ generosity has touched on many areas of the Collection, but has particularly enriched the Gallery’s holdings of Indigenous Australian art and works by female artists, including Lena Yarinkura, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, Mavis Ngallametta, Yvonne Koolmatrie and more.

This richly illustrated 112pp publication, which will accompany the exhibition of the same name, includes each of works the Mittelheusers have supported, and acknowledges their philanthropy and dedication to enriching the Collection. It features an essay by Peter McKay (QAGOMA Head of Australian Art), which positions the Mittelheusers’ philanthropy in an historical context; and an essay from exhibition curator Diane Moon (Curator, Indigenous Fibre Art), in which she elaborates on the benefactors’ origins and motivations while highlighting works in the group. The title also includes a full list of works and brief biographies of Margaret and Cathryn that reflect their many personal, academic and working achievements.

Published for ‘Two Sisters - A Singular Vision: Celebrating the Gifts of Margaret and Cathryn Mittelheuser’, an exhibition organised by the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) and held at QAG, Brisbane, Australia, 19 September 2020 - 31 January 2021.