and that "the painting transcends literal description of a particular place to become an expression of the quintessential qualities of an inland Australian country town".

[2] Drysdale painted the work after a trip in 1947 with fellow painter Donald Friend to the country around Bathurst, including the villages of Hill End and Sofala.

[1] Following the award the art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald said of the work: Russell Drysdale's beautifully modulated "Sofala" deserves the prize.

In the heat of a late afternoon, the stifling air red with dust, the main road empty of life, he conveys a difficult and lonely existence, where man constantly battles against the elements.The painting was originally purchased by John Stephen, Drysdale's brother-in-law.

[2] Several of the buildings in the painting can still be seen in Denison St, Sofala, including the Royal Hotel in the left foreground and the former hospital in the middle distance.