Lot 66

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Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 25 May 1973, lot 306
The National Australia Bank Art Collection

The 147th Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 3 May - 14 August 1915, cat. no. 584 (as "Australian Bullock Team")

The Ninetieth Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Edinburgh, Sculpture and Architecture, 6 May - 2 September 1916, cat. no. 300 (as "An Australian Bullock Team")

Paintings by H. Septimus Power R.O.I.S.A.P, Victorian Artists' Society Galleries, Melbourne, 14 June - 2 July 1921, cat. no. 20 (as "Australian Bullock Team")

The Art of H. Septimus Power, introduction by Max Middleton, Rigby, 1974, pl. 42, p. 97 (illus.)

Mr Power's Paintings, The Argus, Melbourne, 15 June 1921, p. 7

Alongside the landscape, Harold Septimus Power's enduring passion was undoubtedly the subject of the animal. The two go hand in hand throughout his oeuvre, with horses, hounds, sheep, goats and bullocks amongst his most sought-after subjects.
With little schooling under his belt and handicapped with a rare form of deafness, Power was faced with barriers from an early age. As a young boy, he showed promising signs of becoming an artist and had a keen eye for draughtsmanship. Although his father, Peter Power, was a hatter by trade, he was also a painter and did everything possible to discourage his son from pursuing this career path as he had experienced himself the hardships involved with making a profitable career from painting.
Fortunately, his sentiments did not discourage Septimus Power and he began his artistic journey when he ran away to the Australian bushland at fourteen to paint the countryside and its animals. Upon his return, he worked as a carriage painter, which provided him with equine inspiration, and as a veterinary assistant. As much as he loved the job, after some time he was advised by management to just 'stick to his drawings' (1).
In the year 1900, Power moved to Adelaide and befriended fellow South Australian artist, Hans Heysen. Working during the week as a political cartoonist, he spent his weekends painting with Heysen in the Adelaide Hills, selling their works through a local dealer. It was during this time that he received the first commission ever given by the National Gallery of South Australia to an Australian artist (2). It was for an animal painting titled After the Day's Toil 1903, hung in the Gallery in August 1904.
Within this same year, he married his first wife and together they ventured to Paris with limited savings where he studied briefly under the renowned Jean Paul Laurens. Settling in England soon after, he met instant success and a steady flow of commissions. His expertise in animal paintings was welcomed by many as horses, hunting and hounds were a favourite pastime for many of his wealthy clients. Recently returning from a visit to Australia, the Duke of York (the future King George V) was so greatly inspired by the unique landscape that he commissioned Power to paint a scene of an Australian bullock team for his private collection.
World War I was looming and Power felt compelled to join. His application, however, was met with rejection as his hearing impediment was too much of a handicap. Throwing himself back into his painting, he focused on another reworking of a bullock team, but this time on a more impressive scale. Standing at a monumental 122 x 183cm, The Bullock Team c.1914 is a statement piece that could not be overlooked. Proudly shown at several esteemed exhibitions, this piece commanded pride of place and was 'hung on the line' at the 1915 Exhibition of the Royal Academy of the Arts in London. Only an esteemed artist could claim such a valuable position on the wall at eye level, guaranteeing maximum exposure. The painting was so widely praised during the exhibition that it was selected for inclusion at the internationally acclaimed Royal Scottish Academy of Painting in 1916.
Despite his inability to serve in the military, Septimus Power was asked to become one of the official World War I artists with fellow artist George Lambert for the Australian Government. This was an opportunity he embraced, as his abilities to paint en plein air and capture animals in movement were two skills he had garnered across his career. Winning the hearts of many, An Australian Bullock Team made a return appearance in his homeland in the 1921 show at the Victorian Artists' Society for all to see. Exhibited with his paintings from the war, this exhibition was endorsed by the Australian Government and many works from this exhibition remain in public collections.
The period leading up to, and during, World War I was without a doubt the most significant in Power's painting career and the creation of The Bullock Team interweaves right through these key moments of the artist's life establishing him as one of the most accomplished painters of the 20th century. The interwar period marked a shift in his practice, where he moved into the aesthetics of still life painting and portraiture, perhaps a sign of retirement from the action and a welcomed retreat from working tirelessly outdoors for an entire career.

Lucy Foster

(1) Middleton, M., The Art of H. Septimus Power, Rigby Limited, Adelaide, 1974, p. 3
(2) Ibid