Danila Vassilieff, a passionate, freedom-loving Cossack who burst upon the Australian art scene in the mid-1930s is, in this book, posited as the missing link in the story of 20th-century painting in Australia. The author suggests that the emotionalism and originality of his art, and his unconventional lifestyle, has a lasting effect on the art of Nolan, Tucker, Hester, Percival, Blackman, and Arthur Boyd. His imaginative response to the Australian landscape deepened this impact. This critical survey of Vassilieff’s painting and sculpture is richly illustrated and fully documented with catalogues of his creative output in both areas. It is also provides the moving story of a legendary character who died poverty-stricken, in 1958, at the age of 60. His struggle to prove himself as an individual and an artist has all the ingredients of a novel.