Springtime in Sussex 1921

Editor: Right, so this is Tom Roberts’ "Springtime in Sussex," painted in 1921. It's an oil painting, and the brushstrokes are so loose. The whole piece gives off such a feeling of tranquility, but almost... a melancholy, too? What do you see in this piece, looking at it from a historical context? Curator: Well, first, I'd ask: does the title, “Springtime in Sussex,” give you any immediate associations or ideas? Consider what Sussex, and springtime for that matter, may have represented in 1921. Editor: I guess that postwar, it might represent… hope? Renewal after the war's devastation? A particularly English sort of recovery? Curator: Exactly! And Roberts, an Australian artist, painting a quintessentially English scene. Isn't there an inherent commentary there? The landscape genre itself became heavily politicized. Think about what a tamed, gentle landscape represents versus, say, industrial landscapes or even battlefields. It’s also worthwhile to think about who these scenes were painted for; who had access to them and how did that shape the way the public imagined the idyllic versus the real at the time? Editor: That’s such a great point; the image and the reality being so different then. Thank you for clarifying all of that! I'll certainly look at landscape art in a new light going forward. Curator: Likewise! Analyzing its context encourages you to view this serene landscape not merely as a picture of beauty, but also as an active participant in the public conversation of the period.