Title
Sunday evening
(1941)
Artist
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Details
- Other Title
- Sunday Afternoon
- Date
- (1941)
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on asbestos cement sheet
- Dimensions
- 60.0 x 76.0 cm board; 75.3 x 92.0 x 6.0 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed l.r. corner, black oil "Russell Drysdale". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1942
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 7217
- Copyright
- © Estate of Russell Drysdale
- Artist information
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Russell Drysdale
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
Painted shortly after Russell Drysdale settled in Sydney, 'Sunday evening' is one of his earliest works depicting outback themes. It reveals the emergence of a style and approach to subject matter that signalled a radical break from his
previous experiments as a student. Exemplifying Drysdale’s skill as a draughtsman, the painting also confirms the importance of the figure in his work throughout his career.Inspired by the empathy he felt for country people during the Depression, Drysdale depicted what he saw as the uniquely Australian qualities of life on the land. His approach in Sunday evening is influenced by fellow Australian artist Peter Purves Smith, by surrealism, and by the School of Paris artists Modigliani and Soutine. Drawing on these influences, Drysdale evolved his own distinctive vision of human existence on an ancient continent.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 11 exhibitions
Exhibition of Landscape Paintings, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 25 Jun 1941–07 Jul 1941
Russell Drysdale (1942), Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 11 Mar 1942–30 Mar 1942
Contemporary Australian painting from the National collection, Exhibition Venue Unknown, , 1946–1950
A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada, Jul 1957–Sep 1957
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), London Public Library and Art Museum, Canada, Sep 1957–Oct 1957
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, Oct 1957–Nov 1957
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Canada, Nov 1957–Dec 1957
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ottawa, Dec 1957–Jan 1958
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada, Feb 1958–Mar 1958
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), The Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Apr 1958 -
Contemporary Australian Painters (1957), The Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina College, Canada, May 1958 -
Russell Drysdale: a retrospective exhibition of paintings from 1937 to 1960, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 05 Oct 1960–06 Nov 1960
Russell Drysdale: A retrospective exhibition; paintings 1937-1960 (Queensland Art Gallery), Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 22 Apr 1961–28 May 1961
Russell Drysdale 1912-1981, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 19 Dec 1997–09 Mar 1998
Russell Drysdale 1912-1981, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 Mar 1998–10 May 1998
Russell Drysdale 1912-1981, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 18 May 1998–28 Jun 1998
Russell Drysdale 1912-1981, Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin, 20 Jul 1998–30 Aug 1998
Russell Drysdale 1912-1981, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 23 Sep 1998–15 Nov 1998
Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000
Australian Collection Focus: Russell Drysdale Sunday evening 1941, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 30 Jun 2001–23 Sep 2001
"When I was young...": artists' impressions of childhood, Global Arts Link, Ipswich, 09 Nov 2002–02 Feb 2003
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Bibliography
Referenced in 50 publications
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Christopher Allen, Art in Australia: from Colonization to Postmodernism, London, 1997, 140, 142.
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Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 2002, 'Year in review', pg. 8-25, Sydney, 2002, 15.
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Peter Bellew (Editor), Art in Australia [series 4, no. 5], 'Two Australian painters', pg. 8, 63-64., Sydney, Mar 1942, 8, 63 (colour illus.), 64.
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Jennie Boddington, Drysdale: photographer, Melbourne, 1987, 14 (illus.).
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Ian Burn, National life and landscape - Australian painting 1900-1940, Sydney, 1990, 189, 192-96.
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Helen Campbell, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Out of Sydney: city and hinterlands', pg. 185-186, Sydney, 2000, 186, 198 (colour illus.), 199 (colour illus., detail), 300.
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Helen Campbell, Australian Collection Focus: Russell Drysdale Sunday evening 1941, 'Russell Drysdale Sunday evening 1941: towards an Australian archetype', pg. 2-5, Sydney, 2001, front cover (colour illus., detail), 2, 3 (colour illus.), 4-7, 8 (colour illus., detail).
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Helen Campbell, Look, 'Drysdale in focus', pg. 22-23, Melbourne, Jul 2001, front cover (colour illus.), 22 (colour illus.), 23.
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Helen Campbell, Look, 'Russell Drysdale 1912-1981', pg. 14-15, Heidelberg, Apr 1998, 14 (colour illus.).
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Paul Carter, Living in a new country: history, travelling and language, London, 1992, 67-68.
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Gary Catalano., Quadrant, 'The figure of Russell Drysdale', Sydney, Apr 1982, 23, 27.
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Our Art Critic., The Sydney Morning Herald, 'Pictures for Art Gallery', Sydney, 31 Mar 1942.
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Christine Dixon., Art Network, 'Drysdale and reputation', Sydney, Spring 1985, 15.
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Russell Drysdale, The paintings of Russell Drysdale: reproducing fifteen plates in colour with an essay by Joseph Burke, 'List of works and owners, 1951', pg.47-52, Sydney, 1951, 49.
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Geoffrey Dutton, Russell Drysdale, London, 1964, 21-26.
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Edwards and Shaw (Printer), Russell Drysdale: retrospective exhibition 1937 - 1960, Sydney, 1960. cat.no. 14
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Deborah Edwards, Art Monthly Australia, 'Margaret Preston: reviewing the landscape', pg. 19-23, Canberra, Dec 2002-Feb 2003, 20.
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F.W.L. Esch., Pix, 'Drysdale - his paintings come back', Sydney, 08 Oct 1960, 33, 34 (illus.).
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James Gleeson, Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, 'Russell Drysdale', pg. 39-43, Sydney, Oct 1960, 40 (illus.), 41.
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Geoffrey Dutton, Famous Australian art series: Russell Drysdale 1912-1981, Moorebank, 1989, 12, 13 (colour illus.).
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Richard Haese, Rebels and precursors : the revolutionary years of Australian art, 'Cultural Reconstruction; the rise of a new establishment', pg. 245-267, Ringwood, 1981, 260, 262 (colour illus.), 307.
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Roslynn Haynes, Seeking the Centre, Cambridge, 1998, 167-168.
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Stuart Hill and Martin Mulligan, Ecological pioneers: a social history of Australian ecological thought and action, 'Seeing the land in a new light: people and landscapes in Australian art', pg. 34-71, Cambridge, 2001, 66-67.
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Robert Hughes, The art of Australia, Melbourne, 1970, 191-193.
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Lou Klepac, The life and work of Russell Drysdale, 'The war years', pg. 49-58, Kensington, 1983, 47, 50, 62, 64, 213 (colour illus.), 365. plate no. 24
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Lou Klepac, Russell Drysdale: the drawings, 'Russell Drysdale: The Rabbiters and Hill End', pg. 19-25, Sydney, 2012, 24.
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Tony MacDougall (Editor), Australian Encyclopaedia Vol. 6, Sydney, 1996, 2335 (colour illus.).
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Patrick McCaughey, Australian Art Review, 'Russell Drysdale 1912-1981', pg. 114-117, Rozelle, 1982, 116, 117 (illus.).
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John McDonald, The Sydney Morning Herald, 'The past master', pg. 12, Sydney, 11 Apr 1998, 12 (illus.). Spectrum Arts
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Greg McKeon (Editor), Pasture degredation and recovery in Australia's rangelands: learning from history, 'Degradation and recovery episodes in Australia's rangelands: An anthology', pg. 87-172, Queensland, 2004, 120 (colour illus.). plate 2.4
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Hal Missingham, Currency, 'Russell Drysdale', pg. 16-17, Sydney, Oct 1960, 16, 17 (illus.).
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Hal Missingham, Contemporary Australian painting from the National Collection, Sydney, circa 1946, 11. cat.no. 15
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Margaret Plant, Russell Drysdale, 'Drysdale: affinities and critics', pg. 19, Clayton, 1987, 19.
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Ursula Prunster, Aspects of Australian art, Sydney, 2000, (colour illus.). card no. 7: Russell Drysdale 'Sunday evening' 1941
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Andrew Sayers, Drawing in Australia: drawings, water-colours, pastels and collages from the 1770s to the 1980s, Melbourne, 1989, 181. refered to as 'Sunday afternoon'
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Bernard Smith, Place, taste and tradition: A study of Australian art since 1788, 'Realism in Australian contemporary art', pg. 229-257, Sydney, 1945, 237 (illus.), 233-240. plate no. 92. The title of this work in this publication is 'Sunday Afternoon'.
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Bernard Smith., Art Monthly Australia, 'Sir Russell Drysdale (1912-1981)', Canberra, Jun 1998, 27.
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Bernard Smith, Australian painting 1788-1990, 'Rebirth 1939-50', pg. 226-288, South Melbourne, 1991, 226-288, 245 (illus.), 559. Illus.no. 140
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Bernard William Smith, Place, taste and tradition: a study of Australian art since 1788, 'Realism in Australian contemporary art', pg. 239-267, South Melbourne, 1979, 247 (illus.). plate no. 92; titled 'Sunday Afternoon".
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Bernard William Smith, Australian Painting 1788-1960, South Melbourne, 1962, 240-244, 245 (illus.), 246-247.
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Geoffrey Smith, Russell Drysdale 1912-1981, Melbourne, 1997, 11, 38, 39 (colour illus.). cat.no. 3
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Jill Sykes, Look, 'Russell Drysdale refreshed', pg. 23, Sydney, Jul 2010, 23 (colour illus.). Book review of Lou Klepac's Russell Drysdale book.
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Daniel Thomas AM and Paul Haefliger, Russell Drysdale; a retrospective exhibition of paintings from 1937 to 1960, Sydney, 1960, 54. cat.no. 14
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Laurence Thomas., Contemporary Australian painters, 'Foreword', Ottawa, 1957. cat.no. 28
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Sydney Ure Smith (Editor), Australian present day art, Sydney, 1943, 42 (illus.). The title of this work in this publication is 'Sunday Afternoon'.
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Sydney Ure Smith (Editor), Present day art in Australia, Sydney, 1949, 14 (illus.). titled 'Sunday Afternoon'
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Gavin Wilson, The artists of Hill End, Sydney, 1995, 21-24.
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Editor Unknown (Editor), Bulletin, 'Sundry shows', Sydney, 25 Mar 1942, page unknown.
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Editor Unknown (Editor), The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 11 Mar 1942, 7.
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author unknown, Australian letters, 'Australian humour - a symposium', pg. 35, Adelaide, Nov 1957, 35 (illus.).
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