Down on His Luck,
Frederick McCubbin. Box Hill Artists Camp, Box Hill, C.1889
It depicts a seemingly disheartened swagman, sitting by a campfire sadly brooding over his misfortune. According to an 1889 review, "The face tells of hardships, keen and blighting in their influence, but there is a nonchalant and slightly cynical expression, which proclaims the absence of all self-pity. ....McCubbin's picture is thoroughly Australian in spirit."
The surrounding bush is painted in subdued tones, reflecting his somber and contemplative mood.
The artist's model was Louis Abrahams, a friend and successful tobacconist in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne who had supplied the cigar box lids for the famous 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition.
The scene was staged near the Box Hill artists' camp outside Melbourne, but it is thought that McCubbin would have made additional studies of Abraham's under studio conditions