Dear Lee, We all take something a little different from art works. The one you use here reminds me of lazy lost hot summer days on the Murray River in South Australia. We have one just like it in the Art Gallery of South Australia painted by Henry Johnston who was born in Birmingham (Eng) in 1835 and came to Australia for the gold rushes of the 1850s. He was said to be handsome, wealthy, talented and flamboyant. He was also interested in the new art form of photography and started a successful business with a woman called O'Shaunessy. His first love was however painting and he became quite good at painting what people wanted. The one we have here, called "Backwater of the Murray" was painted in London or perhaps Paris and was the first acquisition of our state gallery. He went on to develop a strong market in America for his works. In Australia he changed little in this standard work for his clients but the title which could become "Backwater of the Murrumbidgee" as desired. I wonder if he marketed in your area as "Backwater of the something else" or if you just found the image and liked it? Cheers from the land of river gums and billabongs, Pamela
I apologize, I only just now saw your comment. Yes, I simply did a search on images tagged with the word "backwater" and I really liked this particular painting. It is wonderful to hear the background of the artist - I was not familiar with Henry Johnston but will be sure to look him up.
In Louisiana we have a lot of area that are called "backwaters" that are typically swamps and marshes that receive the yearly floodwaters from the regions rivers and bayous. Because of the association with the rural South, backwater has become a pejorative term, meaning cut off from the more sophisticated and urbane world. I don't entirely buy the idea, although after having lived elsewhere and moved back tot his region, sometimes it does feel that way. Hence the name of the blog.
Are you associated with the Art Gallery? I used this image with the understanding that it was "fair use" (non-commercial use of a publicly available image), but let me know if you feel there is some reason you think I should replace it.
2 comments:
Dear Lee,
We all take something a little different from art works. The one you use here reminds me of lazy lost hot summer days on the Murray River in South Australia. We have one just like it in the Art Gallery of South Australia painted by Henry Johnston who was born in Birmingham (Eng) in 1835 and came to Australia for the gold rushes of the 1850s. He was said to be handsome, wealthy, talented and flamboyant. He was also interested in the new art form of photography and started a successful business with a woman called O'Shaunessy. His first love was however painting and he became quite good at painting what people wanted. The one we have here, called "Backwater of the Murray" was painted in London or perhaps Paris and was the first acquisition of our state gallery. He went on to develop a strong market in America for his works. In Australia he changed little in this standard work for his clients but the title which could become "Backwater of the Murrumbidgee" as desired. I wonder if he marketed in your area as "Backwater of the something else" or if you just found the image and liked it?
Cheers from the land of river gums and billabongs, Pamela
Hi Pamela,
I apologize, I only just now saw your comment. Yes, I simply did a search on images tagged with the word "backwater" and I really liked this particular painting. It is wonderful to hear the background of the artist - I was not familiar with Henry Johnston but will be sure to look him up.
In Louisiana we have a lot of area that are called "backwaters" that are typically swamps and marshes that receive the yearly floodwaters from the regions rivers and bayous. Because of the association with the rural South, backwater has become a pejorative term, meaning cut off from the more sophisticated and urbane world. I don't entirely buy the idea, although after having lived elsewhere and moved back tot his region, sometimes it does feel that way. Hence the name of the blog.
Are you associated with the Art Gallery? I used this image with the understanding that it was "fair use" (non-commercial use of a publicly available image), but let me know if you feel there is some reason you think I should replace it.
-- Lee
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