Shearing the Rams is an 1890 oil painting on canvas by the Australian artist Tom Roberts. It depicts sheep shearers plying their trade in a timber shearing shed. Roberts modelled the painting on a shearing shed at what is now called Killeneen, an outstation of the 24,000-hectare (59,000-acre) Brocklesby sheep station, near Corowa in the Riverina region of New South Wales. One of Australia’s best-known paintings, this and other Australian Impressionist works gave visual expression to an emerging sense of national identity. The painting is currently in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.

Author: Tom Roberts