Malham Cove

Pale limestone cliffs loom over a lush Yorkshire valley in this 1906 landscape by Arthur Streeton, one of Australia's most treasured painters. Malham Cove is a genuine spot, a striking rock formation in the Yorkshire Dales that has pulled in walkers and artists for hundreds of years. Streeton made this work during an extended stay in England, a long way from the dry, sun-drenched bush that first won him fame. Trading golden heat for something cooler and mistier, he filled the scene with sheep grazing across the meadow and a little stream threading its way through the foreground.

As a member of the Heidelberg School, a circle of Australian painters who favored a loose, impressionist style, Streeton loved to work outdoors and chase the shifting light. That habit shows in his brisk, assured brushwork and the sense of clouds drifting overhead. Sunlight strikes the tall cliffs while the slopes below sink into shadow, giving the whole valley real heft and grandeur. This is a calm, unpretentious portrait of a place that plainly moved him, even if it never offered the warm glow he cherished most.