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Lot Essay
'One of the winter's outstanding exhibitions was that by Russell Drysdale at the Leicester Galleries. It was his first exhibition in England and the pictures were well chosen. He paints Australia in its open landscapes, its rather primitive settlements and its people at work and at play, with unsentimental frankness.' (G.S.Whittet, 'London Commentary', Studio, London, April 1951, pp.121-2)
1950 was a watershed year for Drysdale, with the invitation from Kenneth Clark to show in London leading to the successful exhibition at the Leicester Galleries, Drysdale's first London exhibition, where his strange North Queensland landscapes stood out against the white English winter, capturing the attention and intriguing the metropolitan audience. The exhibition was a trailblazer, the first of many Australian shows in London over the coming years, in which Drysdale's contemporaries would similarly launch careers and establish their reputations abroad.
'When they arrived in London, the Drysdales found a downcast art world. General MacArthur had been repelled in Korea and the stock-market was down. Rex Nankivell at the Redfern Gallery commiserated with Drysdale on coming at such a bad time. However, the exhibition was very successful. It was opened on Thursday 30 November by the Hon. E.J. Harrison, M.P., the Resident Minister for Australia in the United Kingdom. After the opening, Drysdale sent a telegram to Lucy Swanton: 'Exhibition big success Leicester very pleased Harrison made excellent speech sales going well George Ross bought out of the window previous day please disseminate news love Riverina Boy.'
George Ross of Mullengandra was sold before the opening of the exhibition. When Drysdale called at the Leicester Galleries to meet Oliver Brown and Pat Phillips he saw the painting in the window already carrying a red sticker. Sir Philip Dunn and Stafford Cripps had walked past the gallery and seen the painting. And Sir Philip, a wealthy Canadian collector, had bought it. Leicester Square was under snow and the exotic picture glowing in the wondow had a remarkable impact.
... Though the Leicester Galleries had wanted thirty-five paintings, only twenty-five works were shown, eleven more than shown at the Macquarie Galleries. The London exhibition was supplemented by a number of loans which included some exceptional earlier works ... The earlier and major examples of his work, and the distinguished collectors who owned them, helped to make the exhibition successful. On the opening day, nine paintings were sold of the twenty-one for sale, including Angry Harrison's Store to Sir Laurence Olivier, who had met the Drysdales in Sydney during a tour of Australia. ... Sir John Rothenstein selected The War Memorial for the Tate. ... The paintings seen together present a remarkable set of images, the translucence of the atmosphere creates an effective impression of endless space. It is as if he had finally brought himself to walk into the outback landscapes in the sunlight he had avoided until then. In his hurry to paint this London exhibition he did not follow his usual procedure of staining his canvases but painted directly on to the white ground, thus producing the translucent effect. ... In spite of the thinness of the paint a memorable effect was achieved.' (L. Klepac, Russell Drysdale, Kensington, 1983, pp.121-2)
'In Drysdale's haste to paint works for his London exhibition, he did not adhere to his usual practice of staining the canvases, but painted directly onto the white ground. He worked quickly and used thin paint, rather than several layers of paint, producing a translucent effect. The tremendous energy with which he worked, from the time of his exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in August until all the preparations were completed before leaving for England, is evident in the additional seven paintings he created in those few months, most of which were done in this thin, fluid technique. ... These seven additional paintings were: Yorky's Nob ...; Green-hide Jack at the mail-box ... ; Brolgas at Giru ... ; Country school children ...; Willy-willy ...; Angry Harrison's store ...; Tractor-face Jackson ...' (G. Smith, loc.cit.)
1950 was a watershed year for Drysdale, with the invitation from Kenneth Clark to show in London leading to the successful exhibition at the Leicester Galleries, Drysdale's first London exhibition, where his strange North Queensland landscapes stood out against the white English winter, capturing the attention and intriguing the metropolitan audience. The exhibition was a trailblazer, the first of many Australian shows in London over the coming years, in which Drysdale's contemporaries would similarly launch careers and establish their reputations abroad.
'When they arrived in London, the Drysdales found a downcast art world. General MacArthur had been repelled in Korea and the stock-market was down. Rex Nankivell at the Redfern Gallery commiserated with Drysdale on coming at such a bad time. However, the exhibition was very successful. It was opened on Thursday 30 November by the Hon. E.J. Harrison, M.P., the Resident Minister for Australia in the United Kingdom. After the opening, Drysdale sent a telegram to Lucy Swanton: 'Exhibition big success Leicester very pleased Harrison made excellent speech sales going well George Ross bought out of the window previous day please disseminate news love Riverina Boy.'
George Ross of Mullengandra was sold before the opening of the exhibition. When Drysdale called at the Leicester Galleries to meet Oliver Brown and Pat Phillips he saw the painting in the window already carrying a red sticker. Sir Philip Dunn and Stafford Cripps had walked past the gallery and seen the painting. And Sir Philip, a wealthy Canadian collector, had bought it. Leicester Square was under snow and the exotic picture glowing in the wondow had a remarkable impact.
... Though the Leicester Galleries had wanted thirty-five paintings, only twenty-five works were shown, eleven more than shown at the Macquarie Galleries. The London exhibition was supplemented by a number of loans which included some exceptional earlier works ... The earlier and major examples of his work, and the distinguished collectors who owned them, helped to make the exhibition successful. On the opening day, nine paintings were sold of the twenty-one for sale, including Angry Harrison's Store to Sir Laurence Olivier, who had met the Drysdales in Sydney during a tour of Australia. ... Sir John Rothenstein selected The War Memorial for the Tate. ... The paintings seen together present a remarkable set of images, the translucence of the atmosphere creates an effective impression of endless space. It is as if he had finally brought himself to walk into the outback landscapes in the sunlight he had avoided until then. In his hurry to paint this London exhibition he did not follow his usual procedure of staining his canvases but painted directly on to the white ground, thus producing the translucent effect. ... In spite of the thinness of the paint a memorable effect was achieved.' (L. Klepac, Russell Drysdale, Kensington, 1983, pp.121-2)
'In Drysdale's haste to paint works for his London exhibition, he did not adhere to his usual practice of staining the canvases, but painted directly onto the white ground. He worked quickly and used thin paint, rather than several layers of paint, producing a translucent effect. The tremendous energy with which he worked, from the time of his exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in August until all the preparations were completed before leaving for England, is evident in the additional seven paintings he created in those few months, most of which were done in this thin, fluid technique. ... These seven additional paintings were: Yorky's Nob ...; Green-hide Jack at the mail-box ... ; Brolgas at Giru ... ; Country school children ...; Willy-willy ...; Angry Harrison's store ...; Tractor-face Jackson ...' (G. Smith, loc.cit.)