The approaching storm. The words of this title evoke a sense of building tension, of drama, of nature’s force, of the sublime. Long’s approaching storm, however, conveys almost the opposite atmosphere: an elemental moment over the Narrabeen Lakes that is more akin to the gentle beauty of an approaching sunshower.

Here, with quick, knowing brushstrokes, Long captured the distinctive qualities and colours of the region: a sharp, clear blue Sydney sky peeking through the bright cloud, the lush, green landscape and a cliff of golden, glowing sandstone.

At first glance it is an unpopulated landscape. However, on close inspection, we can just make out two tiny figures and a cart at the base of the large, stone escarpment; suggesting it is one of the now defunct local quarries that supplied Sydney’s sandstone needs well into the 20th century.

The approaching storm was well received at the time. In 1938 Long was awarded his first Wynne Prize for this landscape and, in 1939, it waspraised in the Sydney Morning Herald as ‘typically Australian’, while touring nationally as part of a major exhibition of Australian painting. In the following year, this light-filled landscape was reproduced in the Sydney Morning Herald, where it was reported that the Australian Government had acquired the painting for the national collection. The approaching storm has scarcely been off display in the offices of senior Australian politicians since this time.

Miriam Kelly

The approaching storm. The words of this title evoke a sense of building tension, of drama, of nature’s force, of the sublime. Long’s approaching storm, however, conveys almost the opposite atmosphere: an elemental moment over the Narrabeen Lakes that is more akin to the gentle beauty of an approaching sunshower.

Here, with quick, knowing brushstrokes, Long captured the distinctive qualities and colours of the region: a sharp, clear blue Sydney sky peeking through the bright cloud, the lush, green landscape and a cliff of golden, glowing sandstone.

At first glance it is an unpopulated landscape. However, on close inspection, we can just make out two tiny figures and a cart at the base of the large, stone escarpment; suggesting it is one of the now defunct local quarries that supplied Sydney’s sandstone needs well into the 20th century.

The approaching storm was well received at the time. In 1938 Long was awarded his first Wynne Prize for this landscape and, in 1939, it waspraised in the Sydney Morning Herald as ‘typically Australian’, while touring nationally as part of a major exhibition of Australian painting. In the following year, this light-filled landscape was reproduced in the Sydney Morning Herald, where it was reported that the Australian Government had acquired the painting for the national collection. The approaching storm has scarcely been off display in the offices of senior Australian politicians since this time.

Miriam Kelly