Arthur Streeton - From MacMahons Point One Penny Fare

Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) - From MacMahons Point One Penny Fare (1890)

Australia $5 Stamp Issued 1979

Held at the National Gallery of Australia Canberra

This painting is set on one of the most beautiful parts of Australia - on the shores of Sydney Harbour.  This painting captures McMahons Point at a time when it was remote to the city of Sydney, only linked by a ferry service.  The 1930s saw the completion of the Sydney Harbour bridge and this part of Sydney's north shore is now densely developed -  but it is still possible to catch a ferry into Sydney.

Streeton is one of Australia's best loved artists from the Heidelberg school in Melbourne.  He was associated with other great artists, including Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin.  They were influenced by the impressionist movement, particularly Turner, which swept through Europe before being taken up in Australia.  Australia's abundance of light and clear skies proved to provide these artists with fertile grounds to make their mark on Australian art history at this time.