Fred WILLIAMS
Australia 1927 – Australia 1982
England 1951-56

The studio 1977
oil on canvas
signed: l.r.
122.3 (h) x 122.2 (w) cm
Private collection
© estate of Fred Williams

Williams’s painting The studio takes the viewer behind the scenes into the hub of his world where works were conceived and where those painted outdoors returned home. His wooden easel is empty, ready and waiting for a new canvas. On the wall a painting of regenerating bush ferns is positioned for the artist to step back and assess. The canvases positioned around the room suggest that he was working on several more works at the same time.

The studio encapsulates the importance of structure, balance and proportion that run like a guiding premise across Williams’s art in a range of media and time frames. Although the geometry within this composition is quite complex, Williams has managed to make the intricacy of the relationships look effortless.