The humanism of Russell Drysdale's art and its compelling authenticity of vision come from his experience of the land and its peoples. Close identification with the land appears early in his art, allied to his intriguing extension of the concept of mateship. Gaunt, stick-like figures in 'Man Feeding His Dogs,' 1941 (Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane) echo in the trees. In 'Woman in a Landscape,' 19…

Provenance

Macquarie Galleries, Sydney; Savill Galleries, Sydney; Property of the Late Hugh McClure Smith CVO, United Kingdom; Thence by descent, private collection, Sydney; Deutscher and Hackett, 29 Aug 2012, Lot 25; Private collection, Sydney

Exhibitions

Russell Drysdale, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 21 November-3 December 1945, cat. 6, (as ‘Small Landscape’, ‘Kindly lent by H.A. McClure-Smith Esq.’); 110 Years of Australian Art, Blaxland Galleries, Sydney, 1950 (as ‘Erosion Country’); Russell Drysdale Retrospective 1937–1960, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 5 October-6 November 1960, cat. 43 (as ‘Western Landscape’, lent by ‘His Excellency H.A. McClure Smith, CVO, Rome, Italy’, label attached verso).

Literature

Burke, J., The Paintings of Russell Drysdale, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1951 (as ‘Landscape with Tree Forms’ and illus. as ‘Western Landscape’, unpaginated); Dutton, G., Russell Drysdale, Thames and Hudson, London, 1964, pl. 35 (illus. as ‘Western Landscape’); Smith, Ure, Russell Drysdale’s Australia, Sydney, 1974, p. 21 (illus. as ‘Western Landscape’); Klepac, L., The Life and Work of Russell Drysdale (rev. ed.), Sydney, Murdoch books, 1996, p. 261, pl. 75 (illus. as ‘Western Landscape’); Smith, G., Russell Drysdale 1912–81, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1997, p. 95 (referred to as ‘Small Landscape’).