Terrinallum Homestead

John Cumming, who bought Terrinallum in 1856, invited Buvelot to the station in 1868 to make drawings of the homestead and countryside. The next year, Buvelot finished this large work, which he painted in his studio in Melbourne.

The painting is an encyclopaedic view of station life in the Western District of Victoria. The successful owner's wealth derives from cattle and sheep, whose wool is seen leaving the large woolshed on a bale-laden dray. The original bark homestead is to the right of the new house, which has extensive gardens.

When exhibited, critics commented unfavourably on the brilliant green of the grassed plains. The low horizon and distant view are not typical of Buvelot's art, which more usually is one of intimate landscape with close views of trees, winding tracks and genre figures.