Sir Russell Drysdale AC (1912-1981), painter, went to art school in his twenties, having first endured a series of operations on his eyes. After studying art in London and Paris in the thirties, he returned to Australia. Over the course of the 1940s he produced a series of melancholy, foreboding works - including The rabbiters, West Wyalong, The drover's wife, Sofala and The cricketers - which not only laid down the terms of reference for most subsequent depictions of the landscape, but came to be seen as key representations of the Australian spiritual condition. Drysdale lived through a series of crushing personal vicissitudes in the 1960s to produce a further significant body of work before his death.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003
Tim Fairfax AC (54 portraits supported)
Drop into the Gallery any time for free creative activities inspired by artist Thom Roberts and his exhibition, The Immersive World of Thom Roberts.
Join us for Portrait Play these school holidays as we explore portraits and music. Come and meet the people that live on our walls, discover musical instruments hidden in the portraits and get creative on your journey through the galleries.
Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.
