PAINTBRUSHES AT DAWN: The World’s Greatest Artistic Feuds, R

​Sunday 19 July 2026 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM (UTC+10)
PAINTBRUSHES AT DAWN: The World’s Greatest Artistic Feuds, R
Presented by Barry Venning
Venue: ANSunshineCoast: Lecture Theatre 1, K Block, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Dr, Sippy Downs

The celebrated controversialist, Christopher Hitchens, once wrote that a first rate bust up requires
one of at least two things: a clash of strong personalities, and a conflict of principles. The history of
art is peppered with first rate bust ups: between the Renaissance artists, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti,
between Constable and Turner in the early 1830s, between Salvador Dali and the Surrealist leader,
Andre Breton in the 1930s and, most recently, between the graffiti artists Banksy and ‘King’ Robbo,
who painted over each other’s works. There are many more. They are highly entertaining, but they
also highlight key issues in art history.

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and ABC Australia, and a DVD on Turner for the Tate.