Peelers' paradise Accession Number: ART03309

Description

Depicts three soldiers from the 1st Australian Division of the AIF sitting near the front of a thatch-roofed house peeling vegetables, the camp kitchen is in background. This is during the Third Battle of Ypres on the Western Front. Power was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1877. When he was young his family immigrated to Australia and settled in Melbourne. At the age of 14, Power ran away from home to pursue a career as an artist. He developed a passion for drawing animals, especially horses, and found jobs that involved contact with animals. In 1900 Power moved to Adelaide where he worked as a political cartoonist with the Register, and painted in the Adelaide hills with Hans Heysen. In 1903 Power was the first Australian artist to receive a commission from the National Gallery of South Australia. In 1905 he traveled to Europe to study at the Academe Julian in Paris. Power eventually moved to London, where he was able to indulge his passion for animal painting with commissions from wealthy English patrons, and he regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy throughout his career.In 1917, Power was appointed an official war artist with the rank of honorary lieutenant and attached to the 1st Division AIF. He worked in France from September to December. He was commissioned for a second time from August 1918 to March 1920, and then contracted on commissions for the Australian Memorial until 1938. A number of Power's commissions were for large paintings depicting significant campaigns of the Australian Light Horse during the First World War, including Leaders of the Australian Light Horse in Palestine, 1918 and Ziza. In 1922 the Melbourne Public Library commissioned a large mural depicting the Middle Eastern Theatre and the Western Front. In 1927 the Commonwealth selected Power and fellow artist W B McInnes to depict the opening of Parliament in the new Commonwealth building in Canberra. Septimus Power earned a legendary reputation for his vivid depictions of animals, particularly horses, featured in so many of the paintings he produced for the Australian War Memorial as an official war artist.

Details

Accession Number
ART03309
Classification
Art
Object Type
Work on paper
Physical Description
Medium: watercolour, pencil, charcoal on paper
Measurement
Overall: 30.4 cm x 46.8 cm
Medium
watercolour, pencil, charcoal on paper
Date Made
1917
Place Made
Whole/Part
Whole
Item Count
1
Credit Line
Acquired under the official war art scheme 1918
Copyright
Copyright expired - public domain

Conflicts

Places

Events

Units

Tags

More like this

Pack horses

Art ART03317 First World War, 1914-1918

Depicts two horses loaded with eight 18-pounder shells, carried in canvas shell carriers. Power was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1877. When he was young his family immigrated to Australia and settl

Australian Artillery going into action at Harbonnieres

Art ART03336 First World War, 1914-1918

Depicts a team of horses with the Australian 1st Division Artillery pulling 18 pounder guns up a hill on a road near Harbonnieres on the Western Front and soldiers on horseback riding into action. Po

Passing through a ruined village

Art ART03322 First World War, 1914-1918

Power shows the tail end of a body of troops marching past a ruined church, followed by the travelling field cooker. The cooker is drawn by two horses with a mounted driver. The limber carries rations

Corbie Abbey

Art ART03648 First World War, 1914-1918

Depicts the ruins of Corbie Abbey church and the village buildings of Corbie, with rubble everywhere. Corbie village is on the Somme and was close to the fighting, with AIF soldiers passing through so

Peronne

Art ART13316 Period 1910-1919

Watercolour sketch depicting a view of Peronne, Western Front, France. The son of artist Frederick McCubbin, Louis McCubbin was born in Melbourne in 1890, and studied at the National Gallery School fr

Broodseinde and Zonnebeke

Art ART13320 Period 1910-1919

Depicts an image of the war damaged landscape of Broodseinde and Zonnebeke, on the Western Front, France and Belgium. The son of artist Frederick McCubbin, Louis McCubbin was born in Melbourne in 1890

See more similar items →

Record information

Last modified: 14 July 2025 - 1.23 am