The Cleaners

Oil On Canvas

Actual: 63.5 x 45.5cm (h x w)

Framed: 73 x 54.5cm

Signed & Dated (19)38’ Lower right

Description:

This artwork by Herbert Badham was purchased around 1975 by family friends of his in Sydney, who later moved to New Farm, Queensland. In 1988, Herbert's daughter, Chebi Badham, saw the artwork in Elizabeth Bay and recalled her father from when she was ten years old. She mentioned that the piece depicted workers cleaning the local council building, which she believes may have been the Woollahra Council Chambers. Chebi also remembered a black-and-white photo of the painting among her father’s possessions. The building she referenced resembles the Woollahra City Council Chambers, as shown in the photo below.

According to Cultural Gifts Valuers, this artwork is attributed to Herbert Badham, despite its slightly unusual signature, where the "H" and "B" are not joined. The style of the piece closely matches Badham's work from 1928 to 1939 in the reproduction records collection of the National Art School in Darlinghurst, previously known as East Sydney Technical College, where Badham once taught.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to Deborah Beck, a lecturer, archivist, and collections manager at the National Art School, for providing this information and for her invaluable assistance in contacting Lisa Kryger, the daughter of Chebi Badham, in hopes of locating a photo of this artwork in the family archives.