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In this portrait of bereavement, Frederick McCubbin has characterised both loss and hardship. The scenario seems initially clear but the painting leaves us to speculate on the nature of the relationships.
Here is a late 19th century artist who could paint children who were not lost or destitute or dead but exhibiting good-humoured curiosity, the hallmark of a happy childhood.
This painting was one of Streeton’s few nods to symbolism. His allegorical Spirit of the Drought is placed on an Impressionist landscape and to that landscape he remained true.
Arthur Streeton and Sydney were each other’s gift. Sydney provided the perfect outdoor subjects for an Impressionist and Streeton become the champion of Sydney Harbour, painting it in all its moods.
Arthur Streeton was a fan of the English poet Percy Shelley as revealed in this painting’s title. Immediately hailed as a masterpiece, the painting’s reputation has endured.
Australian composer Marshall Hall was an advocate for Australian Impressionist art and an admirer of Arthur Streeton, buying several of his works. Streeton returned the compliment with this searching portrait.
In Tom Roberts’s painting The Sunny South, a naked man stands by a sun patch in a grove of coastal banksias. He, his companions and we gaze out at the sparkling sea.
Both Roberts and Condor painted the breathtaking view from Eaglemont Hill across the Yarra Valley to the Dandenongs but Streeton made it his own in magnificent blue and gold panoramas.
What makes a great portrait? Perhaps when it generates enduring interest in the subject’s character – and what a layering of possibilities there is in Tom Roberts’s painting of Lily Stirling.
Golda Abrahams was the wife of Louis Abrahams, who was a friend of Roberts and McCubbin. Roberts painted this portrait as a wedding present for the couple.
Condor painted A Holiday at Mentone especially for land-booming Melbourne. It was a showpiece, produced after his move from Sydney where he had painted less elaborate beach scenes.
Amid the natural beauty of the bush in McCubbin's painting Lost we see the seriousness of the woman’s plight dawn on her: the landscape doesn’t care whether she lives or dies.
Tom Roberts’ painting Allegro Con Brio (fast with brightness) celebrates the vigour and confidence of the time and can be read as an accurate portrayal of 19th century Melbourne street life.
In Charles Conder’s painting An early taste for literature, the milk pale has over-turned and a wandering cow munches on a magazine. Conder’s emphasis is the particular rather than the general.
In 1888, Charles Conder painted with friend and fellow artist Tom Roberts at Coogee, Sydney. On the green hill over-looking the bay, they worked side by side.
Coming South documents the migrant experience with almost photographic realism. As such, it is Tom Roberts’s first exploration of one of the enduring themes of Australian history.
