Lot 51

Gift of the Artist
Private collection, Melbourne

RELATED WORK
Fred Williams, Forest of Gum Trees, 1965-1966, etching, flat biting, black ink on Arches paper, 6/35, 34.9 x 27.6cm (platemark); 46.6 x 37.7cm (sheet), in the collection of The Art Gallery of New South Wales

Fred Williams is celebrated for his transformative approach to the Australian landscape, particularly through his innovative use of printmaking techniques. While best known for his painterly interpretations of the Australian bush, Williams also explored unconventional methods, including the use of etched plates to create plaster casts.

Williams' etching practice was deeply experimental. By incising into copper plates with fine, rhythmic marks, he developed a visual language that captured the rugged textures and spatial complexities of the Australian terrain. Beyond traditional printmaking, he repurposed these etched plates as matrices for plaster reliefs, transferring the incised imagery into three-dimensional form. This process reversed the typical intaglio method, emphasising the tactile quality of his etched lines as raised impressions in plaster.

This method is exemplified in 'Landscape with Green Cloud and Owl' (in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra) and in this work, 'Forest of Gum Trees.' In this piece, Williams pressed an inked etching plate for the print 'Forest of Gum Trees' onto a plaster surface, transferring the image and resulting in a unique plaster cast.

Williams' experimentation with plaster casts from etching plates allowed him to explore the interplay between two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms, adding depth and texture to his representations of the Australian landscape and blurring the boundaries between printmaking, painting, and relief sculpture.

© Fred Williams/Copyright Agency, 2025