Tom Roberts - A Break Away 1891

A break away! (1891, oil on canvas, 137.3 x 167.8 cm). This is an oil painting on canvas (137.3 cm x 167.8 cm). It depicts a scene in the late 19th century, set in the Riverina district during a drought. A mob of sheep is being moved by drovers through a parched landscape in search of water and green pastures. Smelling water, the thirsty sheep stampede downhill towards a dam, as one drover tries desperately to turn them around and save them from being crushed and drowned. A second drover (on the left-hand side, almost hidden by the dust) and two dogs – one having just been knocked over by some sheep – are unable to help.

The painting is in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia.