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Lot Essay
Loch Ard Gorge is located in what is now the Port Campbell National Park, on Victoria's Great Ocean Road. Formed by the elements of wind and water, the immense chasm between the limestone cliffs has the drama of both its natural beauty and a heroic history.
Loch Ard Gorge was named after an English clipper which sank off the Victorian coastline in 1878, in one of Australia's worst maritime disasters. Of the thirty-six crew members and eighteen passengers aboard, only two eighteen year olds, passenger Eva Carmichael and crewmember Tom Pearce survived the shipwreck, coming ashore in the bay pictured here. At the time, the tragedy and romance of the story was tremendous news and from then on, the Gorge became a popular tourist attraction, which it remains to this day.
In this painting, Streeton utilises a number of characteristic elements including an elevated viewpoint, a high-key palette and square brushstrokes, which are particularly evident in the formation of the cliff on the right hand side. Manipulating differing effects of light, Streeton sets up a contrast between the white sands and the lengthening shadows and deep greens of the coastal ti-trees. Elements from much earlier works are also retained, including the familiar intense blue of the sea and the crests of breaking waves. The figures along the shoreline and at the base of the dune impart a sense of scale to the landscape, which highlights the vastness of the gorge.
In 1930, Streeton was dividing his time between his residences in Toorak in Melbourne and his Olinda retreatin the Dandenongs. Following a long and distinguished career, he was still undeniably one of Australia's foremost artists, winning the Wynne Prize for landscape painting in 1928 and in 1931 having the distinction of a retrospective exhibition of his work at the National Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Loch Ard Gorge was named after an English clipper which sank off the Victorian coastline in 1878, in one of Australia's worst maritime disasters. Of the thirty-six crew members and eighteen passengers aboard, only two eighteen year olds, passenger Eva Carmichael and crewmember Tom Pearce survived the shipwreck, coming ashore in the bay pictured here. At the time, the tragedy and romance of the story was tremendous news and from then on, the Gorge became a popular tourist attraction, which it remains to this day.
In this painting, Streeton utilises a number of characteristic elements including an elevated viewpoint, a high-key palette and square brushstrokes, which are particularly evident in the formation of the cliff on the right hand side. Manipulating differing effects of light, Streeton sets up a contrast between the white sands and the lengthening shadows and deep greens of the coastal ti-trees. Elements from much earlier works are also retained, including the familiar intense blue of the sea and the crests of breaking waves. The figures along the shoreline and at the base of the dune impart a sense of scale to the landscape, which highlights the vastness of the gorge.
In 1930, Streeton was dividing his time between his residences in Toorak in Melbourne and his Olinda retreatin the Dandenongs. Following a long and distinguished career, he was still undeniably one of Australia's foremost artists, winning the Wynne Prize for landscape painting in 1928 and in 1931 having the distinction of a retrospective exhibition of his work at the National Art Gallery of New South Wales.