A mid-19th century oil painting depicting in detail a scene at the height of the Australian gold rush is a highlight of a Sotheby’s Australia sale next month.
After his arrival in Melbourne in 1852 the artist Eugene von Guérard (1811-1901) made numerous trips into the countryside of Victoria to depict the scenery. One of these was an eight-week sketching trip to the north-central and western area of the state in 1864 when he stayed in the mining town of Daylesford with the local landowner, the Hon William Stanbridge.