Horace Hurtle Trenerry spent most of his life in South Australia painting landscapes he was intimately familiar with. His work is recognised for his use of tone and texture and, in particular, his ability to use colour to create atmosphere.During the 1930s he was inspired by landscapes around his Woodside home, Mount Lofty, the Flinders Ranges. Trenerry's connection with this landscape and its towering gums is clear. His paintings show his close observation of nature, capturing changes with a fresh spontaneity and bold design. Back Road New Hahndorf, S.A. (1937, oil on canvas laid on cardboard, 57 x 50 cm) is a muted palette of undulating hills to the horizon, the foreground dominated by a majestic tree we must crane our necks to see, its magnanimity enjoyed by the sheep resting in its shade. The unique sense of colour combined with the enlivened brushstrokes and the modernist handling of form, especially the shapes created through light and shadow, are all characteristic of Trenerry.