Sheep Country, Western Victoria 1962

Summary

James Northfield (1887–1973), born in Inverleigh, Victoria, is known primarily as a commercial artist for his outstanding poster art, particularly his travel posters promoting Australian destinations. He undertook his apprenticeship first in Geelong and then in one of Melbourne’s leading lithographic firms, where he honed the skills and knowledge he had built at Gordon Technical College in Geelong. In the early 1930s he opened his own commercial art studio in Flinders Street, Melbourne, and for some 25 years he was a director at the Art Training Institute of Victoria. While he might be best known for his colourful, lithographic poster art, Northfield also turned his hand to painting in oils during the 1950s. These works were typically landscape paintings in a broadly impressionistic style, such as this work is. ‘Sheep Country, Western Victoria’ was made in 1962 and was purchased for the collection in the same year.