On the wallaby track
Encyclopedia
On the wallaby track is a 1896
painting by the Australian artist Frederick McCubbin
. The painting depicts a itinerant family; a woman with her child on her lap and a man boiling a billy
for tea. The painting's name comes from the colloquial Australian term "On the wallaby track" used to describe itinerant rural workers or "swagmen
" moving from place to place for work. The work has been described as "among the best known and most popularly admired of Australian paintings".
McCubbin painted the work near his residence in Brighton, Victoria
, a suburb of Melbourne
. He used his family as models—his wife Annie for the woman and his young son John for the baby. Michael Moriaty, Annie's younger brother was the model for the man.
The painting is popularly known in Australia for its use in an advertisement for Kit Kat
chocolate bars.
The painting is now part of the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
.
1896 in art
-Events:*A bout of typhoid fever puts an end to Maurice de Vlaminck's career as a cyclist.-Works:*Harry Bates - equestrian statue of Lord Roberts*Julian Fałat - Self-portrait-Births:*4 January - André Masson, French artist .*2 July...
painting by the Australian artist Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin was an Australian painter who was prominent in the Heidelberg School, one of the more important periods in Australia's visual arts history....
. The painting depicts a itinerant family; a woman with her child on her lap and a man boiling a billy
Billycan
A billycan, more commonly known simply as a billy or occasionally as a billy can , is a lightweight cooking pot which is used on a campfire or a camping stove.-Usage and etymology of the term:...
for tea. The painting's name comes from the colloquial Australian term "On the wallaby track" used to describe itinerant rural workers or "swagmen
Swagman
A swagman is an old Australian and New Zealand term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag...
" moving from place to place for work. The work has been described as "among the best known and most popularly admired of Australian paintings".
McCubbin painted the work near his residence in Brighton, Victoria
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
, a suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He used his family as models—his wife Annie for the woman and his young son John for the baby. Michael Moriaty, Annie's younger brother was the model for the man.
The painting is popularly known in Australia for its use in an advertisement for Kit Kat
Kit Kat
Kit Kat is a chocolate-coated wafer confection that was created by Rowntree's of York, England, and is now produced worldwide by Nestlé, which acquired Rowntree in 1988, except in the United States where it is made under licence by The Hershey Company. Each bar consists of fingers composed of three...
chocolate bars.
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...
.
See also
- On the wallaby track (1896) - Art Gallery of New South Wales