Degenerates and Perverts: the Legendary Herald 39 Exhibition

The 1939 Herald Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art is widely regarded as one of the most influential moments in Australia's modern cultural history. Opening at a time of profound social and political change, the exhibition became a lightning rod for fierce debate, capturing the tension between cultural conservatism and artistic innovation. This illustrated talk examines the many competing claims surrounding the exhibition — how it was presented, how audiences responded, and why it provoked such polarised reactions. Conservatives decried modernism as degeneracy, while progressives accused traditionalists of stifling cultural progress. The clash of ideas would leave a lasting imprint on Australia's artistic landscape. Steven Miller has worked across commercial and public galleries since the late 1980s and served as Head of the National Art Archive at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 2009 to 2023. He has published extensively on art and co-authored an award-winning book on Australia's first blockbuster exhibition of modern European masters, which received the NSW Premier's History Award. His other publications include Awakening: Four Lives in Art (2015), exploring the role of art in the formation of national identity.