The term ‘Australian impressionism’ refers to a group of like-minded artists working during the 1880s and 1890s. Influenced by the French impressionist movement, these artists focused on capturing the Australian bush and cities as they actually appeared.

They painted en plein air, a French term meaning ‘in the open air’. This approach to painting, popular in Britain and France in the 1870s and 1880s, involved working outdoors to develop a close familiarity with nature, everyday life and local settings.

Many artists also painted and sketched from camps located on the bushy fringes of Sydney and Melbourne.

Although the black-and-white work of the Picturesque Atlas artists was internationally recognised, they are less well known as contributors to Australian impressionism than artists like Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin and Charles Conder.