Meet the Australian Impressionists

Tom Roberts was born in 1856 in Dorchester, England, and emigrated to Australia with his mother and siblings in 1869. He went on to study at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, before moving to Europe where he lived and worked for four years. In Europe, Roberts was influenced by the works of the European Impressionists and was introduced to the concept of painting en plein air. Roberts became a central figure within the Australian Impressionist movement.

Pictured above is Roberts’s large-scale work A break away!. The carefully observed painting showcases elements of naturalist technique and brings the viewer into the sweeping landscape. As the dust rises, sheep run and the rider controls his steed, a moment of movement is captured. Fascinatingly, this sense of movement is said to be in part inspired by the modern phenomenon of the moving image which was to venture to Australia five years later. The painting’s rich palette of ochres and vibrant blue is typical of the time and present throughout the exhibition as each artist aimed to capture the colours of the Australian landscape.

English-born artist Charles Conder arrived in Australia in 1884 aged just sixteen. He only spent six years in Australia before moving back to Europe, however, he became a key figure in Australian Impressionism after befriending Roberts, and painting around Melbourne in the company of Streeton and McCubbin. Like Streeton, Conder’s Hot wind was also painted during the period of extreme drought. While the colours evoke the intense light and searing heat of the summer, Conder’s work reflects his awareness of contemporary Symbolist art in Europe. Drought is symbolised by the figure of the femme fatale, a widely represented archetype at the turn of the century, who is seen blowing smoke from a burning brazier across the parched desert towards a distant town.

Throughout this exhibition, visitors will see an important exploration of the work and perspectives of women artists from the movement. Clara Southern was born in Kyneton, Victoria in October 1860 and studied with Walter Withers and at the National Gallery School from 1883–87. Withers’s interest in the sombre tones of the bush had a lasting influence on Southern and can be seen in many of her works including An old bee farm. Southern and her husband moved to Bythe Bank in Warrandyte, where they built a cottage and an artist studio. She loved the area, frequently interpreting the bush in soft, tonal colours. In her pastoral landscapes, women go about their tasks, with the colours of their clothes often reflecting that of the sky and the land, merging into their environment. Southern helped to make the area popular, and an artist’s camp was soon established with contemporaries such as McCubbin, Jo Sweatman and Penleigh Boyd, coming to stay and paint.

As a young boy, Frederick McCubbin juggled his life between working for the family bakery and attending the Artisan’s School of Design in Carlton, before enrolling at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School. After Roberts returned from Europe, he and McCubbin began leading plein air painting expeditions in Box Hill, Mentone, and later in Eaglemont, Victoria. Among his colleagues, his nickname was ‘The proff’, for his tendency to philosophise and discuss heavy and important topics. McCubbin’s The pioneer is a much-loved work within the NGV Collection. The historical narrative depicted in the painting was a common theme for McCubbin who often painted allegorical works, many of which touched upon the struggles of settler life in Australia. Painted in altarpiece format, The pioneer depicts the resourcefulness and tragedy of pioneer life, showing the prospering city in the background of the third panel.

I hope you have a chance to visit this exhibition over the coming season.

Best wishes,
Tony Ellwood AM
Director, National Gallery of Victoria