Spanning music, theatre, film, literature, as well as other forms of visual art including architecture and photography, this ambitious overview of Australian art covers the entire spectrum of artistic mediums in the 20th century. Art historian Margaret Plant's extensive research and intimate knowledge of these areas, together with her renowned literary aplomb, make it a highly original read full of fascinating insights on the individual contributions of a myriad of Australian creators.

Contents note: Introduction -- Chapter 1. Bush, Desert, Film and Federation: 1900 to 1910 -- Chapter 2. From the Top End of Antartica, to Gallopoli and the Great War: 1910 to 1920 -- Chapter 3. After the War, and Sometimes Jazz: The 1920s -- Chapter 4. The Depression, Facism and Contemporary Art in the 1930s -- Chapter 5. 'No Foes shall Gather our Harvest...'. The Second World War and the 1940s -- Chapter 6. R.G. Menzies and Mrs Everage: the 1950s -- Chapter 7. Wire Wheels and Duffle Coats, Sun Music and Sappho: Change in the 1960s -- Chapter 8. Whitlam - 'It's Time' and After: the 1970s -- Chapter 9. Crocodile Dundee, Songlines, and the Bicentennial in the 1980s -- Chapter 10. The 1990s: Conflicts, Musuems, Ceremonies and the Millennium.

Includes bibliographical references and index.