We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of New South Wales stands.

Arthur Streeton

Workers at the mouth of a tunnel in a mountainside.

Arthur Streeton Fire's on 1891, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Fire’s on 1891

Arthur Streeton’s painting depicts a dramatic moment in the construction of the Glenbrook Tunnel, which was cut through Dharug Country in the Blue Mountains. This location is part of the Knapsack Reserve, a place of extreme cultural importance to the local Aboriginal people.  

Named after the distinctive cry warning that explosives had been ignited, Fire’s on is one of the great achievements in Australian painting. Dwarfed by the grand landscape is a procession of men carrying the body of a labourer killed in an explosion, a scene Streeton witnessed.  

This accident was not mentioned in reviews when Fire’s on was exhibited in Melbourne in 1892 and Sydney in 1893, with one reviewer writing: ‘The painting is free, spirited, masterly, but it is the qualities of light and air the artist has infused into the picture that give it pre-eminence.’ 

  • K–6 discussion questions

    • Imagine you are in the Australian bush on a hot summer day. Write a list of adjectives to describe your experience. Now write a list of adjectives to describe this painting. Compare your lists. Did you find any similar words?  A lot of people think Fire’s on makes us feel the Australian heat and sunlight. Do you agree?  

    • Compare the left side of this painting with the right side. Describe how they are different. Look at the colours, shapes and perspective on each side. What is the subject matter? Do you think each side could work as a painting on its own? What brings them together? 

  • K–6 activities

    • Streeton painted outdoors – this is described as painting en plein-air. Think about him looking at this scene. Then turn around and imagine you are looking at Streeton as he is painting. Draw or paint what you see. Think about the landscape behind the artist. Is it similar or different to the one in the painting? Can you see train tracks? Is the artist looking up or down?  

    • This painting is unusual for a landscape. It is tall rather than wide, and the line where the sky starts is near the top. This is called the horizon line. Make an artwork in the same format. Fold a piece of A3 paper in half and turn it around so it is tall, not wide. Choose an outdoor location or a view out the window. Draw the horizon in the top quarter of your paper. Draw the things that are closer to you near the bottom. Why do you think landscapes are usually in a wide format?  

  • 7–12 discussion questions

    • What is the subject of this painting? Think about what event is being depicted and how. Consider how this painting evokes a sense of drama or the ways in which it might inspire a visceral feeling of being at the site. What about this painting has the greatest impact on you as a viewer? Discuss your answer with a classmate.  

    • In the 1890s the building of a railway tunnel symbolised progress and innovation. The Illustrated Australian News of 1892 celebrated Fire’s on for ‘reflecting the contemporaneous life and activity of a new continent’. How do you think this painting and its subject resonate with viewers today? In the last two decades of his life, Streeton expressed deep concern for the preservation of our natural environment in many of his paintings. 

  • 7–12 activities

    • Streeton was a celebrated colourist, using rich, radiant colour to convey how he saw the Australian landscape. He was particularly known for his use of blues to depict Sydney Harbour or the Australian sky. Look at the colour of the sky in Fire’s on, for example. How would you describe this shade of blue? Do you think Streeton has captured the colour of an Australian sky? As a class, go outside and experiment with paint colours to depict the sky as accurately as you can. Try mixing paints or placing different colours side by side to achieve a likeness. How does the colour of your sky compare to that of your classmates?   

    • In many ways, Fire’s on is a painting of summer heat. Do you know other artists that have depicted weather and the experience of being in it? Create an artwork of your own that captures the feeling of being in an environment at a certain time. How does your work evoke a certain season or time of day? How does it describe the temperature, wind or humidity where you are?