Down on his luck

This picture was painted by Frederick McCubbin and is in the National Gallery of Victoria. It’s titled “Down on his luck” and it shows a man who looks like he could be a bushranger sitting in the bush near in front of a fire small. This could be seen as almost being at the very roots of a true Australian, living off the land surrounded by the bush. 

The painting was done in 1889 when Australia was really creating itself an image in the world with the gold rush becoming a large part of the country’s identity with many people coming from overseas to try their luck in the gold mind. The man could have just been coming from the gold mines and he has been having bad luck and has found nothing, which could explain the title “down on his luck”. This time period can be seen as a real shaping one for Australia with the iconic bushranger Ned Kelly alive during this period.

McCubbin, F. Down on his luck (1889). National Gallery of Victoria.