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The Orange Jacket

Maker Ralph Sawyer (Australian, 1927 - 2007)

Date1987

Object number00018840

NamePainting

MediumOil paint, board

DimensionsOverall: 1040 x 790 mm, 4.3 kg
Sight: 935 x 680 mm
Sheet: 1040 x 790 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Ralph Sawyer

Terms

DescriptionAn oil painting by Ralph Sawyer titled 'The Orange Jacket'. The painting depicts a waterside worker wearing an orange safety jacket, dwarfed by the proportions of a roll-on-roll- off ship at harbour. Only the partial name of the ship is visible, 'ELGAR.../GOTEB...' which appears on the side of the ship, at right lower centre. The roll on /roll off ship displays the logo of Svenska Orient Linien (Swedish Orient Line) based in the Swedish port of Göteborg (Gothenburg). The name of the ship is yet to be confirmed. HistoryThe painting was produced as a companion to one in the collection of the Maritime Union of Australia, Sydney Port titled 'Midnight Truckers' or 'The Darken'. 'The Orange Jacket' shows a small figure of a waterside worker in an orange safety jacket dwarfed by a roll-on roll-off ship. It stands in contrast to Midnight Truckers' portrayal of waterside workers in the 1950s pushing cargo trolleys on a midnight shift. Ralph Sawyer aims to show a contrast between cargo handling in the 1980s based on machinery and cargo handling in the 1950s based on human power. Ralph was a watersideworker from the late 1950s to the 1980s. He was a gang leader and union delegate for 32 years. He was a member of the Communist Party of Australia and produced banners for the Waterside Workers Federation. SignificanceThis painting by Ralphh Sawyer helps in documenting life on the Sydney waterfront and the cultural movements within the Waterside Workers Federation.