Private collection, Melbourne;

Sotheby’s, The Autumn Auction Series, Sydney, 23/05/1999, Lot No. 603;

Private collection, Sydney

“[My aim is] to give a sincere and truthful representation of a portion of the beauty of nature, and to show the charm of light and shade, which I try and set forth in correct tones so as to give nearly as possible an exact illusion of reality.”
– Clarice Beckett, Twenty Melbourne Painters, 6th annual exhibition catalogue, 1924

Figures on the Beach, Low Tide Beaumaris is an exquisite and highly evocative example of Clarice Beckett’s soft-focus landscape paintings. Originally studying under Frederick McCubbin during the second decade of the twentieth century the young Clarice later enrolled with the renowned tonal painter Max Meldrum. In recent years she has become recognised as one of our most accomplished artists working in Australian Tonalism.

This rare and personal work by Clarice Beckett sensitively captures the artist’s unique vision of the Australian landscape. The present work is of special significance because it was completed at Beaumaris Beach, the artist’s home for many years in bayside Melbourne.