In Shearing the rams, Tom Roberts painted the mainstay of the Australian colony.

Impressionism- Audio Guide

Shearing the rams by Tom Roberts

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.

A bush burial by Frederick McCubbin

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.

Field Naturalists by Jane Sutherland

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.

The purple noon's transparent might by Arthur Streeton

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.

The Point Wharf, Mosman Bay by Arthur Streeton

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.

Spirit of the drought by Arthur Streeton

The 9 x 5 impression exhibition set out to educate the Australian public in international art practice.

The 9 by 5 Exhibition by Australian Impressionist painters

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.

Lily Stirling by Tom Roberts

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.

Mrs L. A. Abrahams by Tom Roberts

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.

Golden summer, Eaglemont by Arthur Streeton

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.

Professor Marshall Hall by Arthur Streeton

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.

A Holiday at Mentone by Charles Conder

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.

The Sunny South by Tom Roberts

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.

An Early Taste for Literature by Charles Conder

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.

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Impressionism- Audio Guide

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