Winter landscape

In his breathtaking painted views of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, Horace Trenerry reached the height of his powers as a painter. At the end of 1934 the artist permanently settled in the area south of Adelaide and repeatedly turned to his immediate surroundings for inspiration. Over time, the artist captured the essence of the region’s clear light, rich colours and rolling hills.

Characteristically in Winter landscape, Trenerry uses directional brushstrokes and colour to create pictorial form and a sense of rhythmic distance. The scene has been taken from an elevated viewpoint, looking south, near the township of Port Willunga. The artist achieves a powerful pictorial tension between the dynamic raincloud activity and the dramatically receding dirt road. The big wintry sky and rich chalky texture in Winter landscape show Trenerry as an exceptional artist, with a special understanding of the seasonal inflections   of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.

Tracey Lock, Curator of Australian Paintings and Sculpture