Melbourne City 1975

Summary

Latvian-born Ludmilla Meilerts (1908–97) migrated to Australia in 1948, having sought refuge in the American occupation zone in Germany during World War II. On arriving in Melbourne, she quickly found her place among Australia’s leading artists of the period, bringing a certain European style and sensibility to her intense expressions of her new homeland. ‘Melbourne City’ was painted in 1975 and came into the collection in 2018. It demonstrates not only Meilerts’ capacity for rendering a well-composed scene infused with ambience but also her genius in the use of colour. This rather incidental urban scene of a couple in a half-empty car park is conveyed through expressive lines and strong planes of colour, which define the city and its sleepy spirit during the mid-century period. Yet there is still a pressing energy to ‘Melbourne City’, as there is in much of her work, evident in the confident brushstrokes, bold palette and textured surface. Hers are paintings executed quickly and with purpose.