FRENCH AND IRISH INFLUENCE ON AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS , SCHOOLS

 

An  interesting  insight   into   the   early   Australian   art   scene  is  revealed   in  the   latest  acquisitions  list  of  Douglas Stewart   Fine  Books , Melbourne .  One  offering  is  the  above  79 pp  catalogue  for  a   2007-2008  exhibition  at the   Bendigo  Art  Gallery, which examined   the  experiences  of  expatriate  Australian  living  and  working  in  France , 

Artists  illustrated  include   Robert Campbell, Bessie Davidson, Agnes Goodsir, Rupert Bunny, Kate O’Connor, Max Meldrum, Ethel Carrick Fox, Bessie Gibson, Stella Bowen, Will Ashton, Hilda Rix Nicholas  and  others.

The catalogue, priced at  $75,  is  from  the library of  art curator   and  author  David Thomas, former  Keeper  Pictorial  Collections , National Library  of   Australia   and    other   important   art     positions. 

The  above  circa  1910  publication by  Irish artist  Ponsonby  May  Carew -Smith  , published by  Whitcombe  and  Tombs, Melbourne ,  was designed to  encourage   Australians  to   become  artistic . 

Carew-Smith (1860-1939) , trained in art and teaching  at  Belfast , attended the National Art Training  School, London  in 1855.  He  and  wife  migrated to   Australia   where  he   became the  first  teacher of art  at  the Ballarat  School  of  Mines. He went on to   play a  large part   in  Victorian  art and education.   

In 1899 he was  appointed  inspector of drawing by the Department of Education . He  designed commemorative  WW l  wall  plaques  placed in schools ; designed  the  art  teachers' certificate ; wrote  notes on the decorative arts  for  the  Argus ;  in  1936 he  was  made  Acting Director of the   National  Gallery   of  Victoria .