On the wallaby track
1896
Frederick McCubbin captures the exhausting reality of life in the Australian bush with this 1896 masterpiece. The title refers to 'walking the wallaby track,' a slang term for traveling on foot to find work, and here we see a weary family taking a much-needed break. While the mother rests against a massive gum tree with her sleeping baby, the father tends to a small campfire in the distance. As a key figure in the Heidelberg School, McCubbin used loose, impressionistic brushstrokes to perfectly capture the dappled light and harsh, dry landscape of the outback.
Location: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
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