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The Pioneer
Frederick McCubbin
A three-panel narrative of settlement in the Victorian bush, and a case study in multi-panel handling.
- Artist
- Frederick McCubbin
- Date
- 1904
- Medium
- Oil on canvas, triptych
- Dimensions
- 225 × 295 cm overall
- Location
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
History
What the record shows
McCubbin painted the triptych at Mount Macedon, reading left to right as arrival, establishment and remembrance.
It was purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria in the year it was painted — an unusually immediate acquisition for an Australian work.
Triptychs demand panel-specific crating: each panel travels in its own cavity with matched climate conditioning so the three surfaces age together.
Provenance
Chain of ownership
- 01Purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria, 1906
- 02Held continuously in the NGV collection
