"Glencoe Woolsheds"
Oil on Canvas
68x83cm
Signed Lower Left, Dated 76
$8,000-12,000
Prov: Leonard Joel 1982
Private Collection Adelaide
$8,000-12,000
Closely observed and grounded in the practical rhythms of station life, this work captures a moment of controlled movement as a mob of sheep is guided into a fenced holding paddock, dominated by the imposing structure of a substantial barn, likely a shearing shed and beyond. In this composition, Cathleen Edkins reinforces her enduring interest in the functional aspects of rural industry, where landscape, animal, and built form operate in quiet unison.
Born on Coola Station near Mount Gambier, Edkins possessed an intimate understanding of such environments, having grown up within a working pastoral property where the movement and management of stock formed part of daily life. This familiarity underpins her approach, lending an authenticity to her depictions of rural industry that is grounded in lived experience rather than observation alone.
The setting recalls the established grazing districts around Glencoe, where sheep farming and wool production were central to the region’s development. Works of this nature align with Edkins’ broader practice, in which she consistently explored the functional aspects of the land stock handling, fencing, and agricultural infrastructure alongside her more widely recognised images of draught horses.
Within her oeuvre, such compositions expand upon her reputation as a painter of rural life, capturing not only the strength of working animals but also the systems and environments in which they operated.
