Russell Drysdale
A football game
Encouraged by his teacher George Bell to find his subjects in
the life about him, Drysdale painted a series of works about the
hinterlands of western New South Wales. Purchased at a time when
the special character of Drysdale's work had yet to be recognized
A football game depicts a mother and her children in a
vast empty landscape.
Although isolated from the rest of society the figures appear to
be at one with their surroundings - the arms of the young boy echo
the branches of the dead tree while the solidity and strength of
the woman match the harsh and alien environment. The highly
individual style developed by Drysdale in response to the
Australian landscape appears to have little connection with any
former school of Australian painting. Certainly he was one of the
first painters to draw inspiration from the fringes of the desert
where there are no grand sweeping panoramas and where survival is
more important than heroic deeds.