Taking a look back at our 2005 exhibition of late work by Australian artist Fred Williams. Titled Fred Williams: The Later Landscapes 1975-1981, the exhibition presented a selection of the artist’s finest paintings
from the height of his career, which were made during the six years that preceded his premature death
at age 55 in 1982.  

The later landscapes represented a shift in Williams’ work, both in subject and process. Color
was the chief agent of change: his modulated tonal palette and occasional use of a singular monochrome,
expanded to embrace a wider range of hues. Williams also exposed himself to a greater diversity
of subject. While previously he had focused on one subject, now he happily worked on several
series simultaneously. This renewed vigor and confidence was fueled by a change in working practice:
whereas before Williams sketched mainly in gouache in situ, and worked on the final compositions
back in the studio, now he worked increasingly in oil, en plein air.

Click here to learn more about this historic show.

His work is currently on view at the Geelong Art Gallery through October 15, 2017. Read a recent review in The Sydney Herald.