Joseph C.F. Johnson
Euchre in the Bush
Joseph Johnson's remarkable career spanned work as a journalist,
an illustrator, and later a colonial politician, including a stint
as South Australian minister of education in the late 1880s.
Believed to have been painted after the 16 year old Johnson left
Geelong for the bush in 1864, Euchre in the bush shows men of three
races intently playing a card game that was enormously popular
during the gold rush era. The image may depict a game that
actually took place but more likely it was intended to represent
harmonious companionship instilled by a simple pastime.
Johnson also produced a similar scene in wood cut which formed the
basis of a print titled A game of Euchre that appeared in the
Christmas Supplement of the Australian Sketcher in 1876.