A Sergeant-Major of the Cavalry
(after Tom Roberts' Sergeant Robert Fraser of the NSW Mounted Rifles)

Sketching the Squadron Sergeant Major of A Sqn, 2 Cav Regt, WO2 Stephen 'Butch' Cassidy, Camp Smitty, Al Muttahna Province, Iraq.

A Sergeant-Major of the Cavalry
Oil on Blackbutt wood
1372mm x 762mm
Official Army Art Collection

2006

"Tom Roberts was never an Official War Artist, however he did enjoy painting military themed subjects. One such painting was Sergeant Robert Fraser of the NSW Mounted Rifles which was painted on Kauri pine. As an homage to him, as one of the nation's foremost artists, I decided to paint this man, Warrant Officer Class Two Stephen 'Butch' Cassidy of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.

WO2 Cassidy was the Squadron Sergeant-Major (SSM) of A Squadron, 2nd Cavalry and was 'spotted' by the patron of the Official Army Art Collection project, Lieutenant-General Leahy, whilst at Camp Smitty in Al Mutthana Province in southern Iraq.

WO2 Cassidy agreed to let me paint him and it was whilst he was posing for photographs and sketches that he told me of his ancestry.

This painting was done on tongue-and-groove blackbutt hardwood, joined and varnished with damar varnish. After the painting was completed, another coat of varnish was applied and then the image framed. The whole work weighs in excess of 30kgs due to the denseness of the hardwood!"

Roberts, Tom

Sergeant Robert Fraser of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles, 1896

oil on kauri pine panel

62 x 28.2 cm

Australian War Memorial (ART19505 )

Independent Productions and Aviation Services is the website of Conway Bown, Australian Army Official War Artist and Aviation Consultant. Services include portrait painting and other portraiture, aviation services such as CRM - Crew Resource Management - and Helicopter Underwater Escape Training - HUET - which may include Emergency Breathing Systems - EBS - training using Helicopter Aircrew Breathing Devices - HABD - or Helicopter Emergency Egress Device - HEEDs.

During 2006, Conway Bown deployed to the Middle East as the Australian Army's Official War Artist, what the US Armed Forces call Combat Artist. This website features the artwork created during this project as part of the Australian Army's Official Art Scheme.

For more information on War Art, Combat Artists, Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET), Emergency Breathing Systems (EBS) or Crew Resource Management (CRM), please visit the relevant webpages: