Industrial Buildings

This small painting is not typical of the work of Charles Tole. Other pieces from the 1940s tend to be marked by bright colour and bold forms with clear outlines. Industrial Buildings shows uncommonly loose and dynamic brushwork, giving the picture an impressionistic quality. It might have been painted en plein air, before the scene shown.

The colour palette is restrained. The work could reasonably be described as naturalistic, and it has about it the ring of truth, in appearance and feeling. Equally, it can also be understood to emphasise greys and creams, in the same way that contemporary works by the artist play up other tonalities, such as green and blue. It is an essay in neutrals.

The subject of Industrial Buildings is not known. It might be Whakatāne Board Mills. The architecture is similar to that shown in historical photographs, and the river and hills are broadly consistent with the location.