| Place | Oceania: Australia, Western Australia, Perth |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART30246 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | cardboard: 56 x 68.3 cm; image: 54.4 x 68 cm (irreg.); framed (predicted): 74.1 x 87.7 x 5.5 cm |
| Object type | Painting |
| Physical description | oil on cardboard on hardboard |
| Maker |
Dobell, William |
| Place made | Australia: Western Australia, Perth |
| Date made | 1943 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Emergency loading at night, Perth
Description
Dobell's employment during 1942-44 with the Civil Constructional Corps (CCC), activated by the Allied Works Council (AWC) as part of Australia's war strategy, gave him a unique opportunity to depict the male figure at work and play in all its bare, sweaty glory. The paintings he executed in 1943-44 for the AWC, with their Tintorettoesque orchestrations of diagonal movement and human gesture, rendered by energetic brushwork scudding across textured grounds, have an especial distinction among his oeuvre. One of the most mysterious of the group is 'Emergency loading at night, Perth'.