West Wyalong Main Street from Drysdale Monument

''West Wyalong'' is a

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

painting by Australian artist

Russell Drysdale Sir George Russell Drysdale (7 February 1912 – 29 June 1981), also known as Tass Drysdale, was an Australian artist. He won the prestigious Wynne Prize for ''Sofala'' in 1947, and represented Australia at the Venice Biennale in 1954. He was i ...

. The painting depicts the main street of the New South Wales town of

West Wyalong West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney and above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and the ...

, with its characteristic bend. Curator of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Barry Pearce, stated that it was one of Australia's ten greatest paintings. The painting was conceived when Drysdale accompanied his friendthe barrister, and later Justice John Nagelon a trip to West Wyalong. Drysdale painted the work at his family home in Rose Bay, a harbourside neighbourhood of Sydney. Drysdale's daughter recalled how, as children, she and her brother had been allowed to play around it while he was working on it. A report accompanying an exhibition of his work stated that "Drysdale applied several layers of paint and glaze to render the details with utmost care: the architectural features, cast-iron balconies and posts, the Italianate shopfronts, the blinds lowered against the setting sun". The painting was once owned by merchant John Landau. Landau allowed the work to be displayed at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

until 1996 when his widow Joyce sold the artwork. It was purchased by television executive

Reg Grundy Reginald Roy Grundy (4 August 1923 – 6 May 2016) was an Australian entrepreneur and media mogul, best known for his numerous television productions. He was the producer of various Australian game shows, such as '' Blankety Blanks'' (based on ...

and Joy Chambers-Grundy, who retained ownership until at least 2014. The work was hung in the Grundy's London penthouse for around 15 years. The Art Gallery of New South Wales attempted to purchase the painting at the time but were outbid with the painting selling for "nearly one million dollars". The Curator of the gallery at the time, Barry Pearce, said that it was "the most broken hearted I have been about missing out on a masterpiece."

Bland Shire Bland Shire is a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. it covers an area of . As at the the population was 5,995. It is a member of the League of Extraordinary Communities which was established by Dull, Pert ...

commissioned a bronze and stainless steel

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

sculpture commemorating Drysdale's work. The sculpturesited outside the Tattersalls Hotel in West Wyalongwas unveiled in February 2014.

References

{{Russell Drysdale Paintings by Russell Drysdale 1949 paintings