Rainey, William (1852-1936; English) The Market Boat Watercolour on paper Purchased, 1901 (selected by the Royal Academy) National Gallery of Victoria (107-2) The artist worked mainly as an illustrator of children’s books and magazines. Refs. AR 1901, p.23; NGV 1905, p.78 (II.Stawell Gallery, no.169; size given as 12 x 9 inches) [£20] For details on
Hymans, Henri (1836-1912; Belgian) after Dell’Acqua, Cesare (1821-1905; Italian) The Tortoise Merchant Lithograph Presented by the Belgian Government, 1868 Unidentified; present location unknown Both pre-Felton prints by Hymans (for details, see linked entry) reproduced works by contemporary Italian painters. Dell’Acqua, born in Trieste, moved to Brussels in 1848 and became a successful painter of historical
Listed below are all the individual artists represented in the pre-Felton collection, most of them (it should be observed) contemporary artists, i.e. active during the period (c.1860-1904). Stand-alone artist entries provide details for artists responsible for several works: see e.g. A’Beckett. For all others (e.g. Abbey), the linked entry contains further information on the artist
S.T.Gill: Victorian Gold Fields 1852-3, no.6: The Claim Disputed. Commissioned by the Melbourne Public Library, 1869. SLV (H87.7/6) Introduction The specialist field of watercolour painting attracted the attention of both professional and amateur practitioners and collectors in the 19th and earlier 20th centuries. Melbourne’s pre-Felton collection included a small but significant group, now somewhat reduced by later de-accessioning
Pre-Felton works bought or commissioned on his advice Alma-Tadema The Vintage Festival 1871 {1888} NGV [PA] Creswick & Ansdell England 1850 {1878} NGV [PA] Dyck [van] (after) Mystic Marriage of St Catherine {1869} NGV [PA] Goodall (F.) Rachel going to the Well 1867 {1867} NGV [PA] Graham Autumnal Showers 1869 {1869} NGV [PA] * Hodgson Arab Prisoners 1870 {1871} Loc?
Sharpe, Charles William (1818-99; English), after Maclise, Daniel (1806-70; Irish) Death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar (1876) Engraving, c.40 x 125 cm Gift of W.Pummeroy 1878 Location unknown This print was donated together with * Stocks after Maclise Wellington and Blücher {1878} Loc? [PR], its pair. Maclise’s monumental mural paintings, completed in the 1860s, are in the Palace
Ransome, Richard (active in Melbourne 1850s-60s) Great Bourke Street, Melbourne (c.1860) Engraving, 9 x 14 cm (plate mark), 13 x 19 cm (sheet) Purchased, 1891 State Library of Victoria (H4312) This view (evidently based on an older image) apparently shows Melbourne in about 1840. An inscription below the image identifies the central lamp-post as at the corner of
Lindo, Philip (1821-92; English) Augustus Henry Tulk 1852 Oil on canvas, 36.2 x 30.0 cm (sight), framed Presented by Mrs Tulk, 1878 State Library of Victoria (H292) Tulk (1810-73) was the first librarian of the Public Library of Victoria (1856-73), and a significant participant in the early development of the institution: see linked entry on him
Works by Koekkoek included in this catalogue * Koekkoek Land’s End {1888} Loc? [PA] * Koekkoek Unlading Fishing Smacks {1889} Loc? [PA] Pre-Felton work donated by Koekkoek Koepping after Munkácsy Le Mont de Piete {1889} NGV [ET] The artist, a member of a family of Dutch landscapists, apparently specialized in marine views. His works regularly
Works included in this catalogue Heffner Early Morning in Bavaria {1891} NGV [PA] Heffner A Flitting Gleam before the Storm {1884} NGV [PA] Canvases by Heffner, typically set at dawn or dusk, still appear regularly on the art market, fetching modest prices. NGV 1894 also mentions two landscapes by Heffner then in Sydney, but neither still appears
Campriani, Giovanni (b.1878; Italian) On the Grand Canal, Venice Oil on canvas, 57.4 x 37.0 cm Bequest of Alfred Felton, 1904 National Gallery of Victoria (142-2) A typical tourist view of Venice by this artist, whose dates vary somewhat in different sources. Born in Naples, he followed the example of his father and teacher
Fenton, Roger (1819-69; English), Bedford, Francis (1815-94; English), & others England and Wales (Cities, Colleges and Views) (1858-60) 21 albumen silver prints, 62.0 x 50.5 cm (album) Purchased 1860 State Library of Victoria (LTWEF 6; H87.75/1-21) [reproduction: Fenton: High Street Oxford, dated 1860 (H.87.75/13)] This is one of several collections of photographs purchased for the Melbourne Public Library
Gibbs, James (19th-century British) Four landscape drawings Ink/sepia on paper, various sizes Purchased, 1886 Unidentified; present location unknown As listed in the NGV’s annual report for 1886, these drawings were as follows: (i) Menai Straits, North Wales (Indian ink, 6” x 9”) (ii) Conway Castle (Indian ink, 5 3/8” x 7 ½”) (iii) Brockley Castle,
Works included in this catalogue * Provaggi The Minstrel {1876} Loc? [WT] * Provaggi The Nephew {1876} Loc? [WT] The two watercolours acquired for the pre-Felton collection were presumably typical of Provaggi’s tourist output. They were bought at the same time as views of Rome by Campi. Other examples by Provaggi, still changing hands on the European
Works included in this catalogue * Campi Emily {1876} Loc? [WT] * Campi Japanese {1876} Loc? [WT] Campi, a native of Milan, specialized in elegant society imagery; various examples still circulate on the international art market. [comparative work by Campi: The Perfect Rose (auctioned in 2007)] Refs. For the artist, see AKL 15 (1997), pp.625-26 and Bénézit
Tommasi, Publio De (1849-1914; Italian) The Public Writer 1880 Watercolour, c.127 x 101.6 cm Purchased, 1881 Present location unknown [photo as reproduced in NGV 1894] This picturesque image of daily life in 19th-century Rome, bought from the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition, was reproduced in the 1894 and 1905 NGV catalogues, as shown here. Works by this
Provaggi, Cesare (c.1800-80; Italian) The Minstrel Watercolour, c.25.4 x 35.6 cm Purchased, 1876 (advice of Archibald Michie) Unidentified; present location unknown According to the 1905 NGV catalogue, this work and * Provaggi The Nephew {1876} Loc? [WT] were both bought in London by Michie, Victorian Agent-General. Views of Rome by Campi, also produced for the tourist market, were
Pedder, John (1850-1929; British) The Lame Foot Watercolour on paper, 35 x 52 cm (sight) Purchased, 1901 National Gallery of Victoria (101-2) This rustic work was one of several watercolours bought on the recommendation of the Royal Academy. The artist, apparently a landscape specialist, was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in
Meyerheim, Robert Gustav (1847-1920; German) ‘When the Snow and Ice are gone’ Watercolour on paper, c. 61.0 x 94.0 cm (24” x 37”) Purchased, 1891 (advice of Hubert von Herkomer); de-accessioned and sold at auction, 1950 Present location unknown [photo: as reproduced in NGV 1905] Yet another representation of cows (see e.g. Braith The Stud Herd
Hegg, Teresa (1829-1911; Swiss) Two flower paintings Watercolour, each c. 43 x 33 cm Purchased 1878 Unidentified; present location unknown “Madame Hegg” (as she is described in the NGV’s Annual Report for 1878) commanded a substantial reputation during the 19th century. Her nationality is given variously as Swiss or British. She was a member of the British Royal
Glover, John (1767-1849; English/Australian) Tasmanian Landscape Watercolour, c. 17.78 x 24.13 cm Purchased, 1900 Unidentified; present location unknown This small watercolour, purchased locally for a modest sum in 1900, no longer seems to be in the NGV or SLV, and identification is difficult, in the absence of a photograph. This is the only Glover recorded
Evans, Bernard (1843-1922; English) Sunset, Cannock Chase Watercolour, c.76.2 x 132 cm Purchased, 1883 Unidentified; present location unknown As noted in NGV 1894, two of Evans’ watercolours are in the Sydney gallery; purchased in 1887, they also show views of Cannock Chase (an area in Staffordshire, England). Other watercolours by this artist still appear on
Listed below are all the individual artists represented in the pre-Felton collection, most of them (it should be observed) contemporary artists, i.e. active during the period (c.1860-1904). Links are provided for individual artist entries, in the case of those responsible for several works: see e.g. A’Beckett. For all others (e.g. Abbey), the linked entry contains
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
Works included in this catalogue * Mêne The Hawker {1881} Loc? [SC] * Mêne Mare and Foal {1881} Geelong [SC] Mêne, a noted animalier, rivalled Barye. His works appear occasionally on the contemporary art market, sometimes fetching reasonably high prices. Both pre-Felton bronzes were purchased at the 1881 Melbourne International Exhibition, and then de-accessioned in 1943.
Carrier-Belleuse, Albert-Ernest (1824-87; French) Melody Bronze, size unknown Bequest of Alfred Felton, 1904; transferred to Castlemaine, 1943; de-accessioned from the Castlemaine collection and auctioned, 1987 Unidentified; present location unknown This work, still in the Castlemaine collection in 1983 (when it was described as a gift from the NGV in 1943), was clearly identical with the
Carrier-Belleuse, Albert-Ernest (1824-87; French) The Esquire and The Knight Bronze statuettes, sizes unknown Presented by John King, Esq., by 1865 Unidentified; present location unknown This pair of figures was first listed in the 1865 NGV catalogue. In NGV 1894, they are catalogued as by A. Carrier, and hence were probably early works, since the sculptor signed himself
Works included in this catalogue * Carrier-Belleuse The Esquire and The Knight {by 1865} Loc? [SC] * Carrier-Belleuse Melody {1904} Loc? [SC] Carrier-Belleuse, described by H.W.Janson (1985) as “the most prolific and versatile sculptor of his time,” was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1862. He was responsible for
Brütt, Adolf (1855-1939; German) Half draped female figure 1888 Bronze Purchased, 1888; de-accessioned and presented to Bendigo, 1943 Bendigo Art Gallery (1943.11A-B) The artist became a member of the Munich Secession in 1893, and later founded the Weimar school for sculpture and bronze casting. His statues are on display in Munich, Berlin and elsewhere in Germany,
Works included in this catalogue * Benzoni Four Seasons {1864} Loc? [SC] * Benzoni Euterpe {1885} Loc? [SC] Benzoni ran a successful studio in Rome, producing neoclassical works for both Italian and international purchasers. Besides the marble sculptures listed above, the pre-Felton Melbourne collection also included a plaster cast of his Diana: see Casts – I.