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Inscribed in grey/black ink on front endpaper: ‘To Father – August 9th 1919. With loving birthday greetings! Robert G. Menzies’.

Just one year before his death, The Art of F. McCubbin was published highlighting the famed Australian artist’s oeuvre, with 45 illustrations in colour and black and white. The book is accompanied by an essay written by James MacDonald who provides nuanced commentary on how McCubbin’s works contributed to the mythology of the Australian landscape and the impressionist movement. Menzies gifted this limited edition, signed copy to his father, James Menzies, with the inscribed note quoted above. However, Menzies’s interest in Australian art is broad, with other notable artists such as William Dobell also appearing in his collection. Most importantly, comparisons can be made between the pioneer which McCubbin often celebrates and the life of toil Menzies’s father led. McCubbin’s art possibly elicited an emotional bond for James Menzies, who was a pioneer of Victoria’s Wimmera region and, as mayor, had struggled to hold together the township of Jeparit during the infamous Federation drought.