The Sunny South
ArtistTom Roberts
Year1887
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions30.8 cm × 61.4 cm (12.1 in × 24.2 in)
LocationNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

The Sunny South is a 1887 painting by the Australian artist Tom Roberts.[1] The painting depicts a group of boys swimming naked at Ricketts Point at Beaumaris, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne.[2]

The painting was acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria in 1940 with funds from the Felton Bequest.[1]

The title appears to be a triple entendre. The title refers to the popular show titled The Sunny South, which was a popular play first produced in Melbourne by George Darrell and starring Essie Jenyns in 1883,[3] four years before the painting was finished, then taken to London. Ricketts Point, Beaumaris, is a seaside suburb to the south of Melbourne particularly popular during summertime. The third reference could be to the exposed backside of the central figure in the painting.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Sunny South". Collection. National Gallery of Victoria. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Sunny South". Coastal Arts Trail. Bayside City Council. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Poorten, Helen M. Van Der, "Darrell, George Frederick Price (1851–1921)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 September 2018


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