Brushmen of the Bush

movement 1973-1989 Broken Hill, New South Wales Australia

Brushmen of the Bush was a group of five self-taught painters from the silver-lead mining town of Broken Hill in outback New South Wales - Pro Hart, Jack Absalom, Eric Minchin, John Pickup and Hugh Schulz - who began exhibiting together in 1973 and stayed active until 1989. A journalist, Lorraine Hickman, coined the name for a magazine article after their first show, and it stuck. Working in oils and watercolors, they painted the outback they knew - desert light, dusty streets, miners, station life - with a directness that made them wildly popular with the public. More than fifty exhibitions, including seasons in London, Rome, New York and Los Angeles, raised over a million dollars for charity, especially the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and made Broken Hill a national arts destination.

The Tribuna of the Uffizi (Zoffany)
The Tribuna of the Uffizi (Zoffany)Public domain (credit: Johann Zoffany) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Outback subjects: desert light, dusty town streets, miners, station life
  • Bold, direct oil and watercolor handling without academic polish
  • Warm earth palettes of red soil, saltbush and bleached timber
  • Humorous, larrikin anecdote alongside sweeping landscape

Key figures

  • Pro Hart (1928-2006) — Most famous member; inventive painter of outback life
  • Jack Absalom (d. 2019) — Bushman-painter of the outback interior
  • Eric Minchin (d. 1994) — Painter of Broken Hill and outback scenes
  • John Pickup (d. 2023) — Painter and ABC broadcaster; the group's last surviving member
  • Hugh Schulz (d. 2005) — Painter of desert and mining landscapes

Sources

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