The Austrian scapegoat Arthur Boyd

Arthur Merrick Bloomfield Boyd AC OBE, July 24, 1920 - April 24, 1999) is a leading Australian artist of the late 20th century. Many canvases set the range of Boyd's work from the impressionistic images of the Australian landscape to the utmost expressionistic design. Several well-known works carry biblical stories to the Australian landscape, such as the Exile (1947-48), in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. With a strong social conscience, Boyd's work deals with humanitarian problems and universal themes of love, loss and disgrace.
Boyd was a master of combining elements to emphasize expressiveness. He developed new methods when he was still a teenager, and later changed the technique depending on his preferred style, carrier, location and subject matter. Boyd often used free blows with dense brushes. He smeared the paint with his fingers and palm, because it was faster, while physical contact directly connected it with painting. He believed that this gives more meaning to freedom and pleasure from the act of painting.