The Making of Fred Williams

The article traces the development of landscape paintings by the major Australian artist Fred Williams (1927-82), over his early career from 1952 to 1964. The long piece: (1) Suggests thematic and technical links with a new wave of British painters active when he lived in London, mostly exhibiting with the Beaux Arts Gallery in Mayfair. (2) Points to the experiential influence of the urban environment in London (colour, space, geometry) on his early work, including affects of fog on his perception of visual distance. (3) Reinterprets his late 1950s landscapes regarding the above, dwelling on the “mood” Williams sought to convey. (4) Disentangles the artist’s early indebtedness to both Braque and Cézanne in terms of palette and the presentation of space. (5) Establishes an overarching debt to Ernst Gombrich’s ideas on oil technique, and the rationale of landscape art, in the 1960 book "Art & Illusion". (6) Reinterprets his 1960s landscapes, showing where and how Williams sought to use Gombrich’s insights in specific works. (7) Shows why and how the artist used Piet Mondrian’s plus-&-minus notation to convey the experience of Australian space. (8) Concludes with a brief discussion of his oil painting technique, pointing to characteristics of his signature brushwork, and his approach to crafting a paint 'skin'. 9pp.