Exhibition Theme - Leisure

The fairground, Sydney, 1944

Badham's preference for painting everyday subjects is evident in this work. His palette of garish colours is appropriate for a fairground at night. The light sources are limited, perhaps in acknowledgement of wartime security. The interplay of black shadows heightens the drama, but the evening seems frozen in time as people stand in pairs and groups, maybe hoping to forget the constant presence of war.

Oil on cardboard on hardboard 39.4 x 50.2 cm
Painted in Sydney, 1944
Acquired in 1984
Australian War Memorial
ART28490

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