Held in Melbourne in 1889, the exhibition consisted of 182 ‘impressions’, most of which were painted on cedar cigar-box lids 9 by 5 inches in size.
Although portraits and interiors were also included, the majority of these works appear to have depicted landscape and were characterised by a free painterly style, fresh colours and informal composition.
Normally such works would have been considered preliminary sketches for larger works and consequently unsuitable for public exhibition.
The 'impressionist' technique, quite distinct from the broken colour technique of the French Impressionists, was to evolve into a form of landscape painting that dominated Australian art for decades.