Stranded tree trunk 1935

Kenneth Macqueen grew up in Brisbane and returned to Queensland following service in World War One, having studied at London’s Slade School of Fine Art after the war. In 1922, he settled on a property at Mount Emlyn on the Darling Downs. While Macqueen’s subjects reflected his farming life, he painted in a style associated with Sydney Modernism, courting rhythm and eliminating detail. He exhibited regularly in Sydney and other state capitals, earning renown as a leading Australian modernist and the most distinctive watercolourists of his generation.

From the 1930s, Macqueen holidayed on the Gold and Sunshine coasts, and his work increasingly included beach scenes. These artworks convey what he described as a ‘countryman’s yearning for the sea’ and his delight in the patterns of the seaside. This watercolour is a vivid example, with the anthropomorphised tree taking on vaguely surreal qualities. Its bleached trunk and strong shadows, along with the reflections on the water, imply the heat of the sun. Interestingly, the watercolour also references the erosion of the dunes in the midground, with the tree a victim of a previous storm.