Red Gold

In this celebratory landscape painting of heroic endurance, the subject of the tree plays a central role. The scale of the painting and the subject of the river red gum have been substantially enlarged to convey a grand sense of monumentality. The pair of framing majestic gums alludes to triumphant classical columns, through which the cattle move in procession along their well-trodden dirt track. Its warm golden light points to the close of day in what appears to be an idyllic and rich agricultural hills setting.

From 1908, when the artist moved to Hahndorf, in the Adelaide Hills, the local river red gum species, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, became a recurring motif in Heysen’s oeuvre and for which the artist became famous. His atmospheric interpretations of the eucalyptus tree were unmatched in Australian art and Heysen’s name continues to be synonymous with this landscape theme.

Tracey Lock, Curator of Australian Paintings and Sculpture