This gloriously produced collection has been chosen as representative of the earliest works by gifted artist of the impressionist style. All of whom spent time within the environs of Heidelberg between 1880 and the early 20th century. Even the casual observer would know many of these works, as such feel very comfortable with the Australian uniqueness of colour and country life. Bernard Smith in his influential history, Australian Painting 1788-1960, claimed that the Heidelberg School was a distinctive Australian school of painting with its beginnings between 1885 to 1890 and was due largely to the energy and vision of Tom Roberts to begin with. To this day, there remains a healthy discourse among art historians as to the definition and thus which artists to include when discussing the Heidelberg School.
However, this collection of paintings has been lovingly selected not only as a representation of the leading artists from the Heidelberg School – Roberts, Streeton, McCubbin, Conder and Withers – but they have been chosen for their essence of a bygone era – the pioneer, the shearer, the drover, the rouseabout – all characters woven into Australia’s rich tapestry – captured against the backdrop of ghostly gums, mountain ranges, rivers and seascapes. Long before the homestead and townships became focal points, the Impressionist movement in Europe and the great British landscape artists had inspired this group of young artists living in Australia. With the camaraderie of the artist’s camp where they lived in the open and allowed a deep emotional attachment to influence their broad quick brushstrokes, they created a rich tapestry of work which in a sense brought Australia not only to the world’s attention, but made Australians themselves re-connect to the uniqueness and beauty of this vast southern land and their pioneering forefathers.
The works of the Heidelberg School remain front and centre for us as they are reinterpreted time and again by artists and advertisers: Tom Roberts, Shearing the Rams, being the most obvious example. Many a piece of ephemera is bought and cherished because it carries some representation from the Australian Impressionists. The influence and the importance of the Heidelberg School remains one of the chief reasons for today’s visitors to art galleries.