I recently restored this image for the  “Friends of Hanging Rock”, a group who help care for, protect and restore Hanging Rock, a volcanic formation over 6 million years old, located in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria.  Hanging Rock is home of the Hanging Rock Cup and Races and was the setting for the world renown, 1975 Australian mystery drama film, “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, directed by Peter Weir.  For many years, it has also been a favoured location for landscape painters and photographers.

Hanging-Rock Picnic Races-image-restoration

This image was discovered in the State Library of Victoria’s digitised archives.  It is a photographic copy of the 1897 painting depicting the Hanging Rock Races by Australian artist William Short.  This is the only known copy of the painting and the whereabouts of the original painting is unknown.

As you can see, the original photographic copy was in poor condition.  It was very faded and a small section was missing.

I originally restored this image in black and white then added colour.  Other paintings by William Short plus advice from the Friends of Hanging Rock committee was used as a reference for colours.  This restoration may not be a true representation of the original painting but it is surely an improvement which once printed, will ensure further generations can enjoy it.