Desmonde Downing: Threads of Kelly, VIC

Benalla Art Gallery presents thirteen watercolour illustrations by Desmonde Downing, a distinguished set and costume designer, actor, and singer who contributed to Australian theatre in the 1950s and 1960s. The works form part of the Benalla Art Gallery Collection.

Downing was celebrated for the originality of her stagecraft. She designed sets for Gertrude Johnson's National Theatre Arts Festival, notably Lohengrin and Cavalleria Rusticana (1952), and for the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust's production of The Magic Flute (1956–57, revived 1968). Her pioneering use of imagery—projected from painted glass slides onto gauze—created atmospheric, immersive backdrops. Several of her designs, influential in shaping the aesthetics of early Australian television, are preserved in the Performing Arts Museum, Melbourne.

The suite exhibited here includes Downing's costume designs for Ned Kelly, Douglas Stewart's verse play, staged in Sydney in 1956 under John Sumner's direction. With characteristic dedication to realism, Downing distressed the costumes once completed—tearing seams, removing buttons, and adding paint—to ensure a convincingly rugged appearance.

This exhibition of Downing's designs sits in dialogue with the Benalla Historical Society's Kelly collection—most famously Ned's green sash—enriching visitors' engagement with one of Australia's defining legends. To deepen your Kelly experience while in this venue, speak to reception for admission to the Museum.