Arthur Streeton

The Farrow Collection, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 27 November 1991, lot 20
Private collection, Melbourne; purchased from the above

Arthur Streeton, The Arthur Streeton catalogue, Melbourne: Arthur Streeton, 1935, p. 132
Exhibition of Pictures by Sir Arthur Streeton at David Jones' George St. Store, April, 1937  -  'Landscape with Variations', cat. 16
Mary Eagle, The oil paintings of Arthur Streeton in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 1994, p. 165 (illus.)

There is a small cluster of stable drying cracks in the upper left hand corner and a stable drying crack on the right hand side that runs approximately 10cm in length (to the right of the clouds). There are minor fly spots in clouds and small stable drying cracks above the clouds. UV inspection confirms retouching to the centre sky area (in clouds) approximately 3cm in length and retouching to the fine crack at the right hand side (mentioned above). This work has been lined and has a new stretcher and keys.
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1920 was a busy year for Arthur Streeton. Arriving back in Australia after six years in England and his stint as Official War Artist, he quickly set about re-establishing himself within the local artistic milieu: collectors, critics and fellow artists were contacted and exhibitions arranged – three solo shows and eight group exhibitions were held in Melbourne, Sydney and the UK. He also lobbied the editors of Art in Australia and publishers Angus and Robertson for a history of Australian art.

Despite this hectic schedule, Streeton managed to travel to the Grampians and the Dandenongs, where he reconnected with his favourite subject, the Australian landscape. While the Grampians required longer stays, the Dandenongs must have presented a convenient haven for Streeton who was frustrated with the artistic scene in Melbourne, reporting that 'artists were at loggerheads.'¹  He regularly travelled to the hills and evidently much enjoyed the company of the locals. Indeed, the artist eventually purchased five acres in Olinda for his family. Streeton found inspiration in the Dandenongs' picturesque farms and rural settlements and wonderful light-drenched atmosphere, painting such critically-acclaimed works as Mernda Hill and Blue Gippsland (1921, National Gallery of Australia).

Mernda Hill was painted in 1920, a year after bushfires had swept through the area. Mary Eagle writes that despite several of these works 'depicting the harsh conception of the burnt aftermath of bushfires' that 'critics of the day loved them.'²  It is easy to see why. In this painting the evidence of the recent bushfire is captured through subtly graded values, the indigo shadows punctuated by the occasional straight, stripped tree. There is also a delicate use of colour: 'Streeton blue' in the sky, pale violets in the background mountain ranges and clear pinks in the new growth. Importantly, Mernda Hill also demonstrates Streeton's ability as a skilful draughtsman, contextualising J.S Macdonald's comments in a 1931 Art in Australia article:  '[Streeton] knows how to use his tools of the trade. As a draughtsman he is far above the usual landscapist for he paints with as much regards to depth as to pattern. He does not separate delineation from drawing in tone. His tones are his colour and his colours are his tones.'³

1.. Ann Galbally and Anne Gray, Letters from Smike: the letters of Arthur Streeton, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 159
2. Mary Eagle, The oil paintings of Arthur Streeton in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, NGA, p. 164
3. J.S Macdonald, 'Arthur Streeton', Art in Australia, 15 October 1931, p. 18