Arthur Boyd (b.1920-1999) was born on Boon Wurrung Country in Murrumbeena, Victoria. He was a painter, potter, and printmaker who grew-up within a family of artists. His works drew great inspiration from the Australian landscape, seeing Boyd experiment with a range of styles and techniques throughout his career to create emotive and deeply personal responses to particular places. After travelling Australia and abroad, and serving in the army, Boyd eventually found home at Bundanon on Wodi Wodi Country in New South Wales – an estate located along the Shoalhaven River where he continued to paint up until his death in 1999.

Boyd’s Riversdale Hill, with Flame Trees depicts a landscape well-known to the artist – the view from his beloved home and estate at Riversdale. The work features an open grassland framed by two central Flame Trees and three white birds in flight. The land-scape is backgrounded by Riversdale Hill in the morning light, defined by the Shoalhaven River that runs horizontally through the middle of the canvas – its deep dark blues and purples stretching towards the centre to replenish the earth. Boyd spent much of his time outdoors absorbing the natural environment, observing the river and its patterns, and as such, this work is representative of his connection with this place.