Bailed Up
Encyclopedia
Bailed Up is a 1895
painting by Australian artist Tom Roberts
. The painting depicts a stage coach being held up by bushranger
s in an isolated, forested section of a back road. The work has been described by Barry Pearce, Senior Curator at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
as "the greatest Australian landscape ever painted".
The painting is now part of the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
.
—near Inverell, New South Wales
—owned by his friend Duncan Anderson. He had earlier painted The Golden Fleece
, his second painting depicting sheep shearing
, while at Newstead. The notorious bushranger Captain Thunderbolt
had been active in the Inverell area more than twenty five earlier and Roberts conceived an idea of painting a bushranging scene.
Roberts found his location for the painting along the road between Newstead and Paradise, a neighbouring station. The location was remote, on a flat bend on an uphill stretch of the road, surrounded by "grass trees and a forest of tall gums." At this spot Roberts, with assistance from the Anderson family, constructed a viewing platform in a tree growing on the slope below the road, thus setting himself up at road level. Roberts painted the Cobb and Co
coach in Inverell and modelled the characters in the painting on people in Inverell and station hands at Newstead. Before starting on the main canvas Roberts "made tiny drawings and an oil sketch of how he wanted the scene to look."
in 1900 but still no buyer could be found.
In 1927, Roberts reworked the painting and the extent of this rework has been difficult to ascertain. Using X-ray photography, art historians now think that Roberts simplified the work considerably, making it flatter and more abstract, in the modernist style that had come into vogue at that time. The painting was finally sold for 500 guineas in 1928, purchased by a Sydney solicitor, J. W. Maund. Maund was also a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
and he immediately lent the painting to the gallery—selling it to them five years later.
En route to an exhibition in Melbourne in 1956—part of the cultural program of the 1956 Summer Olympics
— the painting fell off the back of a truck. The painting was damaged but successfully restored.
1895 in art
-Events:* P. H. Emerson publishes his last photographic book, Marsh Leaves.-Works:*Edvard Munch - Jealousy*Tom Roberts - Bailed Up*Théophile Steinlen - Les Chanteurs des Rues*Dorothy Tennant - L'Amour Blessé...
painting by Australian artist Tom Roberts
Tom Roberts
Thomas William Roberts , usually known simply as Tom, was a prominent Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School.-Life:...
. The painting depicts a stage coach being held up by bushranger
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
s in an isolated, forested section of a back road. The work has been described by Barry Pearce, Senior Curator at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
as "the greatest Australian landscape ever painted".
The painting is now part of the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
.
Composition
Roberts painted the work while staying at Newstead sheep stationSheep station
A sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South...
—near Inverell, New South Wales
Inverell, New South Wales
Inverell is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands. It has a temperate climate...
—owned by his friend Duncan Anderson. He had earlier painted The Golden Fleece
The Golden Fleece (painting)
The Golden Fleece, originally known as Shearing at Newstead, is an 1894 painting by the Australian artist Tom Roberts. The painting depicts sheep shearers plying their trade in a timber shearing shed at Newstead North, a sheep station near Inverell on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales...
, his second painting depicting sheep shearing
Sheep shearing
Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year...
, while at Newstead. The notorious bushranger Captain Thunderbolt
Captain Thunderbolt
Frederick Wordsworth Ward was an Australian bushranger renowned for escaping from Cockatoo Island, and also for his reputation as the "gentleman bushranger" and his lengthy survival, being the longest roaming bushranger in Australian history.-Early years:Frederick Ward was the son of convict...
had been active in the Inverell area more than twenty five earlier and Roberts conceived an idea of painting a bushranging scene.
Roberts found his location for the painting along the road between Newstead and Paradise, a neighbouring station. The location was remote, on a flat bend on an uphill stretch of the road, surrounded by "grass trees and a forest of tall gums." At this spot Roberts, with assistance from the Anderson family, constructed a viewing platform in a tree growing on the slope below the road, thus setting himself up at road level. Roberts painted the Cobb and Co
Cobb and Co
Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 19th century when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries, as well....
coach in Inverell and modelled the characters in the painting on people in Inverell and station hands at Newstead. Before starting on the main canvas Roberts "made tiny drawings and an oil sketch of how he wanted the scene to look."
Reception
Once complete, Roberts exhibited Bailed Up in Sydney and Melbourne. Critical reception to the work was mixed; with comment in the press about "the way the legs of the men, or the skin of the horses had been depicted" among other things. Pearce considered that "[p]erhaps unsatisfactory pictorial resolution was sensed" by collectors. Regardless, for a thirty year period the painting failed to find a buyer. Roberts reduced his asking price from £275 to 75 guineasGuinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
in 1900 but still no buyer could be found.
In 1927, Roberts reworked the painting and the extent of this rework has been difficult to ascertain. Using X-ray photography, art historians now think that Roberts simplified the work considerably, making it flatter and more abstract, in the modernist style that had come into vogue at that time. The painting was finally sold for 500 guineas in 1928, purchased by a Sydney solicitor, J. W. Maund. Maund was also a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
and he immediately lent the painting to the gallery—selling it to them five years later.
En route to an exhibition in Melbourne in 1956—part of the cultural program of the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
— the painting fell off the back of a truck. The painting was damaged but successfully restored.
External links
- Tom Roberts' Bailed Up – National Film and Sound Archive