Summer afternoon, Templestowe

Executed in oil, the painting employs a light, loosely brushed handling that anticipates the looser, atmospheric approach later associated with Australian Impressionism. Buellot’s careful rendering of light and colour conveys the heat and clarity of a summer afternoon.

The National Gallery of Victoria purchased the work in 1869, making it one of the institution’s earliest acquisitions. Since then it has remained in the gallery’s collection, serving as an early example of European‑trained artists interpreting the Australian landscape.

Created shortly after Buellot’s settlement in Victoria, the painting reflects the mid‑19th‑century shift toward depicting local scenery rather than European motifs. It helped establish a visual language for Australian landscape painting that would influence later artists.

*Summer Afternoon, Templestowe* was a direct source of inspiration for Arthur Streeton’s 1889 work *Golden Summer, Eaglemont*, linking Buellot’s approach to the development of the Australian Impressionist movement.