Musings from the Backwater Blogger

It is becoming increasingly apparent as we work our way through the collections at Carrick Hill that the paintings are not just an eclectic gathering of modernist works collected by a discerning eye interested in modern thought, or an inheritance from a culturally aware upbringing. They also form a Hayward travelogue.

A fascination for me is to look at the works not just as the outstanding pieces that so many of them are, but as markers of Ursula and Bill’s frequent movement through the world and within Australia. Of course works by artists like Stanley Spencer and Jacob Epstein relate to regular visits to England. The provenance and history of much of the major modernist collection is recorded and most works were purchased from a London dealer or directly from the artists with whom the Hayward's had contact. But there are other works which have no such associated records and when this happens it is from the item itself that the story must be extracted.

One such work is a small painting titled in oil by the artist on its face Beche de mer lugger. There is absolutely nothing else on this work that would indicate who that artist might be, or where on earth (literally) the painting might have originated.   A lugger is a traditional style of shallow-draft fishing boat with a simple double masted rig, and beche de mer means sea cucumber, a creature that is considered a delicacy in many cultures. This painting shows one of these luggers moored in a tranquil bay. The crew sit in a relaxed group on the foredeck. The paint handling is fluid and the palette muted. Stylistically it fits loosely with the other modern works in the collection and the painting and its original frame probably date from the late 1930s or early 1940s.

Like a couple of other pieces in the collection, this painting seems almost like a souvenir. Did these ‘souvenirs’ work as reminders for the Hayward's of enjoyable stays? Were they gifts to each other or to them from other people? Beche de mer lugger has a price written in pencil on the back – £8-8-0 – is that around about the right price if it was purchased by Ursula or Bill during the war?  If it was acquired then, where might they have got it from? Ursula lived for a time in Brisbane (1942); perhaps she travelled further north to Cooktown where these luggers had at one time been in use? Bill served in Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Morotai and Labuan; perhaps he picked it up during that time? Did they ever visit Vanuatu, another sea cucumber fishing location?

So many questions unanswered and a mere nibble around the edges of knowledge concerning this charming painting. Maybe the archives will divulge something as the search continues.