The latest list of Douglas Stewart Fine Books , Melbourne, included this rarity , a circa 1890 view of Russell Falls, Tasmania ,painted on a gumleaf , signed by artist S. Wadsworth , which sold immediately.
Wonder if he was related to public servant Walking Jimmy Wadsworth who took part in walking events in Hong Kong and sparked the idea for the annual Northern Territory Walkabout organised by the Northern Territory News ?
Because of their brittle and ephemeral nature, genuine Australian gum leaf paintings from prior to the World War One period (especially nineteenth-century examples) are rare survivors. These exquisite miniature works are highly sought after by collectors of both Australian folk art and Australiana, as the medium comfortably crosses over genres. ‘Possibly the rarest of Australian collectables today, these examples of Australian popular or folk art are expressions of a remarkably innocent period of cultural isolation….’ (Vane Lindesay, Aussie-osities. Richmond, Vic. : Greenhouse, 1988, p. 99)
Alfred William Eustace (1820-1907), an English-born landscape painter, poet and taxidermist, is credited with being the first exponent of gum leaf painting in the Australian colonies. He first experimented with the medium as early as 1851-52, while in the Ovens District of northern Victoria. In 1869, a pair of his gum leaf paintings was exhibited in Melbourne at the Art and Art Treasures Exhibition, which would have brought the practice to widespread public attention.
Indeed, it became a popular folk art medium that remained in vogue in the colonies up until the 1890s. The preponderance of subjects in known nineteenth-century examples – such as the one offered here – are bush scenes.
(Later on, when Australian soldiers went to fight in the Middle East and Europe during World War l, there would be a huge revival in gum leaf painting: leaves decorated with motifs such as the kookaburra and kangaroo, along with patriotic messages, were a convenient and hugely popular type of memento from home that could be sent to loved-ones fighting overseas).
Two other examples of gum leaf paintings by S. Wadsworth – one a scene in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales and the other a Victorian landscape at dusk – are reproduced in Lindesay (ibid., pp. 98-99), who describes the gum leaf painting process thus: ‘The preparation for this socially fascinating pastime was simple indeed. When a suitably shaped living leaf was chosen – dead leaves were far too brittle – it was then left to dry, often pressed under a weight to prevent curling. It was then painted green all over, thus adding a fresh appearance and strength to the dry fibre. The decoration was finally added to the leaf in oil paint with a sable hair brush.’ (ibid. pp. 97 and 99).
