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Selby Warren lived much of his 92 years in the tiny settlement of Trunkey Creek, rural New South Wales, Australia. His paintings reflect a “time past”, when country life was basic and tough. Warren painted simply because he wanted to and, until he gained recognition towards the end of his life, he never attempted to sell a picture, keeping his art to himself. From an art-world perspective, Warren seemed to appear fully formed as an artist – having no training, apprenticeship, career development, and being without teachers, artist-peers and dealers. It was as though a bird had flown over the rugged terrain and dropped a seed, from which a single flower had sprouted, growing alone in an otherwise barren landscape. Warren painted in a male-dominated and unsophisticated bush town where art-making of any kind just “wasn’t the sort of thing blokes did”. His family’s reaction to his art was that of bemusement; the locals were dismissive.
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