Fred WILLIAMS
Australia 1927 – Australia 1982
England 1951-56

(Bushfire in Northern Territory 1) (1976)
Signed lower right in black ink "Fred Williams.". Not dated. Not titled.
image, overall 57.2 (h) x 75.4 (w) cm
Purchased from Gallery admission charges 1983
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
NGA 1983.2989.115
© estate of Fred Williams

In 1976 on his way out of Australia to the Bologna Art Fair where his work was being shown, Williams flew over the Northern Territory at night. He was taken with the ‘unforgettable sight’ of bright lines of fire against the dark ground that he saw from the plane,  recording them in small sketches that would become the basis for a major series of bushfire gouaches. These were produced following a visit to China on his return to Australia later that year.