Summary

Sheep Grazing by Helene Ilich, circa 1960s-1970s. Helen migrated to Melbourne from Croatia in 1953 with her two children, her husband already having arrived. She had always wanted to be an artist but rarely had the opportunity or parental support to pursue her passion. This continued in Australia but she found a degree of artistic outlet by working in three ceramic studios around Melbourne - Ellis, Isobel (a small independent business) and Guy Boyd's studio which she particularly enjoyed.

In the late 1960s she joined the Heidelberg District Artists' Society and also taught painting at her home. She eventually stopped teaching due to her husband's complaints about the smell, but recommenced after his death in 1992. She continued painting until about six years before her own death on 18 February 2002.

Physical Description

Framed oil painting. There is a large gum tree in the foreground of the painting and sheep grazing on the gentle slope underneath it. In the distance are more rolling hills with sheep grazing and gum trees, with the landscape flatting out to plains of grass in the distance.

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