Hans HEYSEN
Germany 1877 – Australia 1968
Australia from 1884; Europe, England 1899-1903

Red gold 1913
oil on canvas
129.5 (h) x 174.5 (w) cm
Gift of the Rt. Hon Sir Charles Booth 1913, Art Gallery of South Australia

In Red gold 1913 Heysen depicted two great old trees at Hahndorf, with a worn road between and homeward cattle, distant hills and coloured light on the clouds and air and trees. The view is from the Hahndorf-Mt Barker Junction Road, but it is painted with some artistic licence. Mt Barker in the background could not actually be seen from the artist’s vantage point.[1] The mature, majestic gums suggest triumphal columns, basking in warm golden light at the close of day.

[1] Ian North, Hans Heysen Centenary retrospective, 1877–1977, Adelaide: Art Gallery Board of South Australia, 1977, p 40