Year Of Birth

1912

Year Of Death

1981

Biography

Russell Drysdale was born in Bognor Regis, England, to a pastoralist family, settling with them in Melbourne in 1923. He visited Europe in 1932 where he was influenced by the paintings of the post-impressionists and school of Paris. One of the first Australian artists to examine the complex relationships between the landscape and inhabitants of inland Australia, Drysdale attained international status for the distinctly ‘Australian’ character of his work. His depictions of Aboriginal people, small town dwellers and rural workers isolated within a harsh and dramatic environment were in stark contrast to the dominant imagery of the Australian landscape as a land of pastoral plenty.