| A Break Away! | |
| Medium: | oil on canvas |
| Height Metric: | 137.3 |
| Width Metric: | 167.8 |
| Metric Unit: | cm |
| Imperial Unit: | in |
| Museum: | Art Gallery of South Australia |
| City: | Adelaide |
A Break Away! is an 1891 painting by Australian artist Tom Roberts.
The painting depicts a mob of thirsty sheep stampeding towards a dam. A drover on horseback is attempting to turn the mob before they drown or crush each other in their desire to drink.[1] The painting, an "icon of Australian art", is part of a series of works by Roberts that "captures what was an emerging spirit of national identity."
Roberts painted the work at Corowa.[2] The painting depicts a time of drought, with little grass and the soil kicked up as dust. The work itself is a reflection on the pioneering days of the pastoral industry, which were coming to an end by the 1890s. Arthur Streeton recalled years later: "To paint that masterpiece [''A break away!''], Roberts travelled for six weeks with the drovers."[3]
The painting formed part of the 1898 Exhibition of Australian Art in London, the first major exhibition of Australian art internationally.
A break away! is now part of the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia having been purchased in 1899.[4] It was included in Quintessence Editions Ltd.'s 2007 book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die.[5]