Australian Impressionists in France explores an overlooked period in our art history. Many Australian artists spent time in France during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, yet this era is often bypassed in favour of examining the work of well-known impressionist landscape painters, such as Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin, and their role in developing our national identity.
Beautifully illustrated with more than 130 paintings, prints and drawings, this catalogue is a comprehensive and welcome look at a vibrant and fascinating time of artistic exchange. It includes a series of informative essays looking at different groups of artists and collaborators, and it is divided into two time-blocks: 1885-1900 and 1900-1915.
Australian Impressionists in France uncovers a period of artistic creativity and diversity that many will not be aware of, and will be pleasantly surprised by.
Margaret Snowdon is the Art & Design Buyer at Readings Carlton.This post was originally published in the Readings Monthly, June 2013