During his long ocean passage to Australia in 1852, Eugene von Guérardreported that conditions were far from ideal, and "meals were late and bad" (1).He had boarded a sailing ship at Gravesend, England, to seek his fortune inVictoria. At the gold fields of Ballarat, he described mining as "arduous at first"and causing "much backache and blistering of hands" (1). His gold miningefforts in Ballarat and environs were unsuccessful, and after a year, he aban-doned the venture. Even so, he had struck gold. His illustrated diaries chroni-cled the history of the region, the harsh life of the gold digger, and the scarringof landscape from gold mining. He opened a studio in Melbourne, soon tobecome the most important Australian artist of his day. The son of an artist and court painter, von Guérard was born in Vienna,Austria. He toured Italy with his father and lived in Rome for a while, wherehe became familiar with the work of famed French landscapists ClaudeLorraine and Nicholas Poussin. Later, he studied landscape painting at theDusseldorf Academy, where he was influenced by German romanticism—amovement that also dwelled on the visual aspects of nature. During his 30 yearsin Australia, he became a renowned landscape painter, as well as teacher andhonorary curator at the National Gallery in Victoria. He died in London, wherehe had settled near the end of his life (2).
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