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The Drover's Wife

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The Drover's Wife
ArtistRussell Drysdale
Year1945
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions51.5 cm × 61.5 cm (20.3 in × 24.2 in)
LocationNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra

The Drover's Wife is an oil painting on canvas executed in 1945 by Australian artist Russell Drysdale. It depicts a flat, barren landscape with a woman in a plain dress in the foreground. The drover with his horses and wagon are in the background.[1] The painting has been described as "an allegory of the white Australian people's relationship with this ancient land."[1] Henry Lawson's 1892 short story "The Drover's Wife" is widely seen as an inspiration for the painting, although Drysdale denies that.[2]

The painting is now part of the collection of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Gray, Anne. "The Drover's Wife". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  2. ^ "The Drover's Wife: Henry Lawson helps create our Mona Lisa" by Frank Moorhouse, The Australian, 27 October 2017