Pre-Felton works donated after Purves’ death * Giambologna [after] Rape of the Sabines {1878} Loc? [SC] * Unknown (Italian 19C?) Venus de’Medici {1878} Loc? [SC] According to his obituary, Purves migrated to Tasmania in 1834 and then moved to Victoria three years later, raising sheep near Hanging Rock. Later, he owned the Tootgarook station near
Pre-Felton works certainly or probably donated by Fawkner Edelinck after Turchi The Deluge {1868} NGV [PR] Gill Ballaarat from Mount Buninyong 1855 {1868} SLV [PR] Gill Melbourne Exhibition Buildings 1854 {1868?} SLV [PR] * Gill Post Office, Melbourne 1856 (?) {1868} Loc? [PR] Gill Terminus of the M.& H.B.Railway 1854 {1868} SLV [PR] Gill Toorak. The Residence
Portrait listed in this catalogue * Saupé Marcus Clarke {1893} Loc? [SC] Assisted by his cousin Andrew Clarke, Marcus Clarke migrated to Australia in 1863 after the collapse of his family’s financial fortunes. From 1867, he gained recognition for his column as “The Peripatetic Philosopher” for the Melbourne Argus. His major novel For the Term
Pre-Felton works bought on Barry’s advice * MacDowell Eve {1877} Bendigo [SC] * Unknown (Italian 19C?) Lions (2) {1862} Lost [SC] Portraits of Barry in the pre-Felton collection Botterill Sir Redmond Barry {1892} SLV [PA] Gilbert & Ball Sir Redmond Barry 1887 {1887} SLV [SC] Summers Sir Redmond Barry {1860} SLV [SC] Thomas Sir Redmond
Unknown (Italian, 19th century?) Venus de’Medici (replica) Marble, c. 99 cm (3’3”) high Presented by the family of James Purves, 1878; de-accessioned, 1943 Present location unknown [photo: this figure as visible in photograph of Melbourne’s Picture Gallery, 1872 (SLV H96.160/1793)] This statue and * Giambologna [after] Rape of the Sabines {1878} Loc? [SC] are both documented
Unknown (Italian, 19thcentury?) Rebecca at the Well (c.1870?) Marble, 77 cm high Purchased, 1876 State Library of Victoria (H2008.44) In its somewhat alluring treatment of the Old Testament subject, this statuette typifies the period, and is comparable with other later 19th-century examples, such as the larger-scale statues by C.F. Summers in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, which also
Unknown (Italian, 19th century?) Two lions Zinc, size unknown Purchased, 1862; removed, 1924 No longer extant These statues were bought on the advice of Redmond Barry in London. An 1863 engraving of the library’s entrance hall shows them prominently displayed among the plaster casts and other sculptures acquired in the first years of the collection. They
Unknown (Italian, 19th century) Head of Dionysus (replica) Bronze, 69 x 47.5 x 33 cm Purchased 1892 National Gallery of Victoria (acc.no. 916-D1M) Like the other bronzes acquired for Melbourne in 1892 – see Unknown (Italian 19C) “Berenice” {1892} NGV [SC], etc. – this work is described in the 1894 and 1905 NGV catalogues as a reproduction
Unknown (Italian, 19th century?) Diane de Gabies (replica) Bronze, size unknown Purchased, 1881 Present location unknown NGV 1905 notes that this bronze, presumably a reduced-scale statuette (or perhaps a head), was purchased at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1881. The Louvre original (1.65 cm high), excavated in Rome in 1792, is generally regarded as a Roman
Unknown (Italian, 19th century) Head of Dante (replica) Bronze, 43.9 x 45.7 x 22.9 cm Purchased, 1892 National Gallery of Victoria (915.a-b-D1M) Like the other bronzes bought for the Melbourne collection in 1892 – see e.g. Unknown (Italian 19C) “Berenice” {1892} NGV [SC] – this is a replica of a work in Naples. In this case, the original is
Unknown (Italian, 19th century) Dancing Faun (replica) Bronze, 79.0 x 35.5 x 30.7 cm Purchased, 1892 National Gallery of Victoria (917-D1M) This is a replica of the bronze figure in the Naples Museum, found at Pompeii in 1830, and widely copied thereafter. Haskell & Penny include the original in their catalogue of the hundred antique statues attracting
Unknown (Italian, 19thcentury) “Berenice” (replica) Bronze, 69.9 x 36.6 x 28.9 cm Purchased, 1892 National Gallery of Victoria (918-D1M) One of several “art bronzes” listed under new acquisitions in the NGV’s 1892 annual report, this bust is a reproduction of the Roman bronze found at Herculaneum in 1756, and acquired for the Naples museum in 1884.
Unknown (German, 19th century) Ecce Homo and Way to Calvary (c.1850) Bronze reliefs Purchased, 1862 National Gallery of Victoria (1201-D1R and 1202-D1R) [photo: Ecce Homo relief] The NGV catalogue, classifying these reliefs as “decorative arts,” describes them as “after Dürer,” which seems optimistic. Refs. Not listed in early NGV catalogue
Unknown (British, 19th century) Innocence Parian ware, size unknown Presented by Captain Lonsdale (c.1860) Unidentified; present location unknown This bust is noted in the NGV’s stock-book, in the earliest list of acquisitions (undated) as in “Parian marble” (for this medium, see * Bonham Carter Florence Nightingale {1880} Loc? [SC]). Lonsdale also donated another work in the same
Noble, Matthew (1817-76; British), after Bust of Queen Victoria Parian ware, size unknown Presented by Captain Lonsdale, 1863 Present location unknown This bust of the Queen in the earlier years of her reign appears in several photographs of the library’s temporary picture gallery (1872 Picture Gallery): detail shown here. In the 1894 NGV catalogue, it
Unknown (Australian, 19th century) James Hemming Webb Marble, size unknown Presented by Mrs Agg, 1886 Unidentified; present location unknown The sitter (1813-81) is identified in NGV 1905 as the Victorian Government shorthand writer from 1866 until his death, but little else seems to be known about him; he does not figure in the Australian Dictionary of
Unknown (Belgian?) St George and the Dragon Bronze, size unknown Presented by Alexander Mollison, 1863; auctioned 1943 Unidentified; present location unknown Various early sources help piece together the history and origins of this work. The 1863 Age report on donations solicited in England and Ireland by Sir Redmond Barry identifies the donor as Alexander Fullerton
Works included in this catalogue Woolner James Clow 1853 {1891} SLV [SC] Woolner La Trobe [plaster medallion] 1853 {by 1880?} SLV [SC] Woolner La Trobe [larger bronze medallion] 1853 {1888} SLV [SC] Woolner La Trobe [smaller bronze medallion] (1853) [1889] NGV [SC] Woolner Edward Wilson {1868} SLV [SC] Woolner Sir Redmond Barry 1878 {1881} NGV [SC] A foundation
Woolner, Thomas (1825-92; English) Sir Redmond Barry 1878 Marble, 63.5 x 35.5 x 26 cm Presented by subscribers, 1881 National Gallery of Victoria (p.65.5-1) This bust was produced two years before Barry died at the age of 67. By contrast with Summers’ earlier evocation of the character of a noble Roman (Summers Sir Redmond Barry {1860} SLV
Woolner, Thomas (1825-92; English) Edward Wilson 1868 Marble, 80 x 37 x 18 cm Presented by subscribers, 1868; transferred from NGV to SLV, 1943 State Library of Victoria (LTS 43) This bust epitomizes the earlier career of the sitter (1813-78), editor of the Argus from 1848, and a vociferous critic of vested interests in mid 19th-century
Woolner, Thomas (1825-92; English) Charles Joseph La Trobe (1853) Bronze medallion, 7.4 cm diameter Gift of H.Kennon, 1889 National Gallery of Victoria (914-D1M) This is an example of the reduced scale replica format used by Woolner for a number of his portrait medallions; cf. Woolner La Trobe [larger bronze medallion] 1853 {1888} SLV [SC]. Refs.
Woolner, Thomas (1825-92; English) Charles Joseph La Trobe 1853 Bronze medallion, 24 cm diameter Signed and dated: T.WOOLNER Sc. 1853 Purchased 1888 State Library of Victoria (H5489) Both this work and Woolner La Trobe [smaller bronze medallion] (1853) {1889} NGV [SC] were presumably based on Woolner La Trobe [plaster medallion] 1853 {by 1880?} SLV [SC] (refer entry for further details). Refs. AR
Woolner, Thomas (1825-92; English) James Clow 1853 Plaster medallion, 31.5 cm diameter Purchased, 1891 State Library of Victoria (H36) This work, signed and dated, is one of the portrait medallions made by Woolner during his brief sojourn in Australia (1852-54). According to the State Library, it may have been the model for a bronze medallion produced
Works included in this catalogue * Wood Daphne 1871 {1877} Bendigo [SC] Wood Sir John O’Shanassy 1881 {1888} SLV [SC] Wood – one of Queen Victoria’s favourite artists – spent time near the end of his life in Melbourne, arranging for the completion and installation of his statue of the monarch for Parliament House (finally
Wood, Marshall (1818?-82; English) Sir John O’Shanassy 1881 Marble, 83 x 66 x 38 cm Presented by Matthew O’Shanassy, 1888; transferred from NGV to SLV, 1943 State Library of Victoria [LTS 40] This work was one of several commissions undertaken by Wood during his extended stay in Australia in 1880-81 (for details, refer separate entry on
Wood, Marshall (1835-82; English) Daphne 1871 Marble, c. 170 cm (5’7”) high Purchased, 1877; de-accessioned and presented to the Bendigo gallery, 1943 Bendigo Art Gallery (1943.17) NGV 1905 indicates that this statue was purchased in Melbourne. * MacDowell Eve {1877} Bendigo [SC], bought in London the following month, seems to have been intended as a pendant. In
Uphues, Joseph (1850-1911; German) An Archer 1884 (cast dated 1889) Bronze, 97.8 x 23.6 x 46.9 cm Purchased, 1890 National Gallery of Victoria (p.58.3-1) According to NGV 1905, this statuette was bought after being shown in the Centennial International Exhibition held in Melbourne in 1889. Bénézit lists it as Sagittarius – possibly its original title? The sculptor, a Professor
Works included in this catalogue Todt Gold Diggers 1854 {1884} NGV [SC] * Todt Richard Heales {by 1865} Loc? [SC] After studying sculpture in Berlin, Todt migrated to Australia in 1849, transferred to the Victorian goldfields in 1851, and then worked as a sculptor in Melbourne for several years. In the Journal of Australasia (1856), he
Todt, Emil (1809-1900; German) Bust of Richard Heales Plaster Presented by subscribers {by 1865} Present location unknown This work was included in the 1865, 1880 and 1894 NGV catalogues, but seems to have disappeared after that (it is not listed in NGV 1905). “Examples of it survive with the Heales family, and in the Healesville
Todt, Emil (c.1810-1900; German) The Gold Diggers 1854 Plaster, 38.3 x 23.9 x 15.6 cm Gift of Mrs Leonard Terry, 1884 National Gallery of Victoria (p.79.2-1) According to a writer in the Argus of August 1854, this statuette “indicates nothing short of genius of the highest order.” It certainly heroizes the diggers considerably, by comparison with other contemporary