VE Day, Melbourne

In this work, civilians mingle with members of the Air Force, Navy and Army at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets, outside Flinders Street Station in central Melbourne. In the background, a congregation leaves St Paul's Cathedral following a Thanksgiving service. The large RAAF recruitment banner hangs overhead, somewhat redundant now the war is over. The atmosphere is one of muted celebration as hawkers sell flags to celebrate victory in Europe.

George Julian Browning (1918-2000) served as an official war artist attached to the Military History Section in New Guinea and Borneo from 1943 until 1946. He studied at the National Gallery of Victoria School from 1937 to 1941 and at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, from 1938 to 1939. During the Second World War Browning served as an official war artist attached to the Military History Section in New Guinea and Borneo from 1943 until 1946. Not only did he produce a substantial collection of paintings and drawings, but after the war he also worked extensively on the Australian War Memorial's dioramas, of significant events from the Second World War. He also designed dioramas for the Melbourne Museum.