Australian Landscape Painters

Famous Australian landscape painters at a glance

1. John Glover (1767–1849): arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1831 and was among the first to paint the eucalypt as it actually grows.
2. Eugene von Guérard (1811–1901): the detailed, romantic wilderness of colonial Victoria.
3. Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin and Charles Conder: the Heidelberg School, and the hard light of the Australian summer.
4. Hans Heysen (1877–1968): towering gum trees and the Flinders Ranges.
5. Elioth Gruner (1882–1939): frost, morning light and Spring Frost.
6. Albert Namatjira (1902–1959): the MacDonnell Ranges in watercolour.
7. Lloyd Rees (1895–1988): Sydney Harbour and luminous late landscapes.
8. Russell Drysdale, Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd: the outback, the Kelly country and the Shoalhaven.
9. Fred Williams (1927–1982): the You Yangs and the bush reduced to marks on a field.
10. John Olsen (1928–2023): the country seen from above.
11. William Robinson (b. 1936): Queensland rainforest from many viewpoints at once, winner of both the Archibald and Wynne Prizes.

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Colonial painters: learning to see the country

The first European painters in Australia arrived with a visual language built for English parkland and Italian light, and their early landscapes often look like Europe with eucalypts added. John Glover, already an established English painter when he settled in Van Diemen's Land in 1831, was among the first to look harder: his trees twist and thin the way gums really do, and his Tasmanian scenes include the people who had lived on the land for millennia. Eugene von Guérard, who came to Victoria during the gold rush, painted the wilderness with scientific precision and a romantic sense of scale in works such as Ferntree Gully in the Dandenong Ranges. Louis Buvelot, working in Melbourne from the 1860s, brought a quieter, more intimate view of the bush that the next generation would build on.

The Heidelberg School: an Australian light

In the late 1880s a group of young Melbourne painters began working outdoors in the bush around Box Hill and Heidelberg. Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin and Charles Conder painted quickly, in the open air, chasing the high-key light and heat of the Australian summer. Their 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition of 1889, painted mostly on cigar-box lids, was dismissed by critics at the time and is now seen as a founding moment of Australian art. Streeton's Fire's On and The purple noon's transparent might remain the definitive images of that light, while Roberts and McCubbin turned the bush into a stage for national stories.

Their influence never left. See how today's painters carry it forward in our Australian landscape paintings collection.

The twentieth century: from gum trees to the aerial view

Hans Heysen, working from Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, made the river red gum and the Flinders Ranges his life's subject and won the Wynne Prize many times. Elioth Gruner painted frost and early morning light with rare delicacy. Albert Namatjira, an Arrernte man, painted the MacDonnell Ranges in watercolour and became the first Aboriginal artist to win wide national fame. Lloyd Rees painted Sydney Harbour for most of the century, his late works dissolving into light.

From the 1940s the landscape became harder and stranger. Russell Drysdale painted the drought-stricken outback, Sidney Nolan set Ned Kelly against an Australia of flat colour and endless distance, and Arthur Boyd spent decades on the Shoalhaven River. Fred Williams changed everything after him: in his You Yangs and Upwey paintings the bush becomes scattered marks across an open field. John Olsen looked down at the country from above, and William Robinson painted Queensland rainforest from many viewpoints at once. Each of them is a reason Australian landscape painting today is as likely to be abstract as literal.

For the wider story, see our guides to famous Australian artists and Australian contemporary artists.

Choosing a landscape painting for your home

Let the room set the scale. Landscapes are usually horizontal, which suits the long wall above a sofa, a sideboard or a bed. Aim for a painting about two-thirds the width of the furniture below it. See our living room art and large wall art guides for sizing and hanging.

Choose a place, or a mood. Many collectors buy a landscape because it holds a place they know: the harbour, the coast, the high country, the desert. Others choose for the light and colour alone. Both are good reasons, and the best paintings do both.

Literal or abstract. After Fred Williams and John Olsen, Australian landscape painting runs from detailed and atmospheric to almost pure colour. A more abstract landscape often works better in a contemporary interior; a more literal one can anchor a traditional room.

Light it well, and keep it out of the sun. An LED picture light or track angled at about 30 degrees brings out the surface, and indirect light protects the colour over decades.

Australian landscape painters FAQ

Who are the most famous Australian landscape painters?

Historically: John Glover, Eugene von Guérard, the Heidelberg School painters Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin and Charles Conder, then Hans Heysen, Elioth Gruner, Albert Namatjira, Lloyd Rees, Russell Drysdale, Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Fred Williams, John Olsen and William Robinson.

What is the Heidelberg School?

A group of Melbourne painters, chiefly Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin and Charles Conder, who painted outdoors around Box Hill and Heidelberg from the late 1880s and created the first distinctly Australian way of painting light and landscape.

Which art prize is for Australian landscape painting?

The Wynne Prize, awarded by the Art Gallery of New South Wales since 1897 for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or figurative sculpture.

Who are some contemporary Australian landscape painters?

Painters working today include Phil Stallard, Peter Griffen, Greg Mallyon, Julie Simmons, James Willebrant, Gino Campagnaro and Marshall Williams, all represented by SOHO Galleries in Sydney.

Can I buy an original Australian landscape painting?

Yes. SOHO Galleries in Woollahra, Sydney, holds original landscape paintings by established contemporary Australian artists, with delivery and installation across Australia. Send us your wall size and we will suggest works that fit.

Last updated: October 2026