Margo Donoghue-Klewin - The Stragglers

The Stragglers
Oil on Canvas
76cm x 110cm
Ref. 54655

This work portrays a stockman on horseback moving two stray cattle across a riverbed — a familiar scene in the Australian landscape. It honours the skill, patience, and quiet strength of those who work the land, capturing a moment of calm purpose amid the vastness of the bush.

After spending some time in Sofala, NSW in 1996, I sketched some of the local landscape with soft pastels. On a trip there I met a stockman moving cattle and then painted them in a smaller oil study crossing the riverbed. Forward to 2025, I decided to paint a larger canvas work from the study.