This issue of stamps features landscapes from the National Gallery of Australia collection by five of Australia’s best known painters. The paintings convey a range of captivating Australian terrain, from lush coastal regions to the dry interior.

Painted during the most prolific period of landscape art in Australia, from the late 1830s to the years following World War II, these works also reflect the changing nature of this nation’s identity. In this era, landscape subjects became firm favourites with the public, and Australians began to visit their own museums and galleries to see images of their country. Landscape art remains a significant and popular genre of visual art.

Dandenong Ranges from ‘Beleura’ is an example of Eugene von Guérard’s suburban coastal landscapes, it is believed to have been commissioned by wealthy pastoralist James Butchart of “Beleura”, near Mornington, Victoria.

The landscape of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia provided great inspiration for Hans Heysen. German-born Heysen is known for conveying the majesty of large gum trees, evident in his In the Flinders – Far North.

In Land of the Golden Fleece Arthur Streeton depicts a view towards Mount William from the southern end of the Grampians mountain range in Victoria, looking down and across a property at Willaura.

Mr Robinson’s house on the Derwent, Van Diemen’s Land is one of John Glover’s most magical landscapes. The site is beside the Derwent Estuary on the outskirts of Hobart, where Mr Robinson owned the substantial double stoned colonial house and expansive grounds.

Russian-born artist Nicholas Chevalier travelled throughout the south-east of the country in search of dramatic mountain ranges and seascapes for his subject matter. In Studley Park at sunrise Chevalier shows the Yarra River flanked by tall trees and open bushland.

Source: Australian Post

published March 30th, 2013