Coming South
1886 · Oil on canvas
Dimensions 63.5 × 52.2 cm
Coming South is a 1886 painting by the Australian artist Tom Roberts. The painting depicts migrants coming to Australia from Europe aboard a steamship. Roberts based the painting on sketches he had made when returning to Australia aboard the SS Lusitania in 1885 after four years abroad in Europe. Historian Humphrey McQueen describes Coming South as one of Roberts' seven best-known paintings. The National Gallery of Victoria describes it as "a definitive image of the migrant experience" and "Roberts's first exploration of one of the great themes of Australian life". The painting was acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria in 1967.
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About this artwork
Coming South (1886) by Tom Roberts, oil on canvas.
About Tom Roberts
Thomas William "Tom" Roberts (8 March 1856 – 14 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism.
More by Tom Roberts
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