One summer again. Ep. 3

This is a most engaging three-part dramatised series on the lives and work of a group of Australian artists in Melbourne in the mid to late 1800s who were dedicated to not only creating a unique style of Australian painting, based on the revolutionary art form Impressionism, but also to fighting for recognition by an Australian society still clinging to traditional British values, particularly in the field of classic art. It is the story of the Heidelberg School of artists, written by Bill Garner and based on an original idea by Humphrey McQueen. Episode three focuses on Roberts’ painting “Shearing the rams” and his attempts to sell it first to the National Gallery (Victoria) who reject the offer and then to whoever in “society” Melbourne might be interested. The issue is just how far and to what lengths will Roberts go in his quest to be a successful Australian artist. Condor, meanwhile, is in Paris whilst Streeton, having left Melbourne to reside in Sydney, is successfully selling his works to the New South Wales Gallery who have pledged to purchase “Australian” paintings. Roberts, it would seem, has to face his own demons in Melbourne, in an era of political class war and depression. In this final episode, we see each of the artists taking their own path, but the emphasis is on Roberts, his character, ethics and motives. Cast includes Chris Hallam (Tom Roberts), Michele Fawdon (Jane Sutherland), Phil Sumner (Fred McCubbin), Huw Williams (Arthur Streeton), Nina Landis (Clara Southern), Ian McFadyen (Theodore Fink), John Wood, Roger Oakley.