David Boyd (Australian 1924-2011) Pathway Through the Mountains Oil on canvas laid to board Signed lower left 51 x 76cm (20 x 29¾ in.) Provenance: Wagner Art Gallery, Paddington, New South Wales, Australia Purchased from the above by Rear Admiral Sir Joseph Henley KCVO CB in 1985 Thence by descent to the present owner in 1999 Exhibited: Paddington, New South Wales, Wagner Art Gallery, Four Seasons, 1985, no. 21 Rear Admiral Sir Joseph Henley KCVO CB and Lady Henley moved permanently to Sydney in the late 1960s after his retirement from the Royal Navy. His final naval appointment was as the Flag Officer Royal Yachts (FORY), in command of HMY Britannia 1961-1965. David Boyd (1924-2011) was one of the most iconic and significant Australian artists of the 20th century whose talent strengthened the family's artistic dynasty. Boyd's primary focus was colonial history and he created many works relating to the history of aboriginal Tasmanians in Australia. Some of these works caused controversy amongst contemporary Australian critics but his fluid landscape paintings captured emotion through colour and became renowned with the Boyd artistic dynasty. Through splashes of colour the artist has captured the children playing in the pass through the mountains creating an almost dreamlike effect with white cockatoos swooping down around their heads. Boyd loved to experiment and discovered a method of using candle flame in 1966. He named the technique Sfumato, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci who had used the word to describe graduations of misty tones.