Fred WILLIAMS
Australia 1927 – Australia 1982
England 1951-56

Upwey landscape 1965-66
oil on canvas
Signed and dated l.r., oil paint "Fred Williams 65"
183.0 (h) x 148.0 (w) cm
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Purchased 1966
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
NGA 1966.126
© estate of Fred Williams

Format and internal structure were paramount to Williams with his Upwey landscapes. The vertical orientation of this Upwey landscape emphasises the steep rise of the reddish-ochre ground towards the pale white sky. While painting these works, Williams recalled the lessons of his early training, including his interest in Tonalism and George Bell’s teachings on dynamic symmetry. He often turned these works upside down, as Bell had encouraged, to free himself from too literal a response to the subject, and to make sure that the formal aspects of the painting were working well together.