Gilbert, John (1817-97; English) Louis XIV, transacting business with his ministers in the Apartment of Madame de Maintenon Watercolour, c.69 x 102 cm Purchased, 1881 Present location unknown [photo: as reproduced in NGV 1894] This large watercolour showed Louis XIV and his cabinet in the Versailles apartment of the king’s former mistress and second (“morganatic”)
Gigli, Roberto (1846-1922; Italian) (?) Temple of Vesta Watercolour, c.35.6 x 53.3 cm Purchased, 1883 Unidentified; present location unknown The fourth of the set of views of Rome bought for the Melbourne collection in 1883: see Gigli The Colosseum {1883} NGV [WT]. This particular work may have been similar to a somewhat larger watercolour titled
Gigli, Roberto (1846-1922; Italian) (?) Temple of Minerva Watercolour, c.53.3 x 38.1 cm Purchased, 1883; de-accessioned and sold at auction, 1950 Unidentified; present location unknown See Gigli The Colosseum {1883} NGV [WT]. Refs. AR 1883, p.33 (giving size as 21 x 15 inches); SB (noting sale at auction, Oct.1950); NGV 1894, p.49 (II.Stawell Gallery, no.36);
Gigli, Roberto (1846-1922; Italian) (?) Goldsmith’s Arch Watercolour, c.35.6 x 53.3 cm Purchased, 1883 Unidentified; present location unknown One of four Roman views bought in 1883 (see Gigli The Colosseum {1883} NGV [WT]). The Arco degli Argentari, erected in early 3rd century Rome for the Emperor Septimius Severus, was a popular subject for 19th-century artists and photographers.
Gigli, Roberto (1846-1922; Italian) (?) The Colosseum Watercolour, c.38.1 x 53.3 cm Purchased, 1883 National Gallery of Victoria (p.169.55-1) This is the only one of four watercolours by Gigli, listed under new acquisitions in the NGV’s 1883 annual report, to have remained in the collection. The NGV’s current online catalogue lists it as by Giovanni
Field, Walter (1837-1901; English) A Grey Day on the Thames 1871 Watercolour, c. 24 x 50 cm Purchased, 1872 (advice of John Herbert) Unidentified; present location unknown The artist, a watercolour specialist, studied with Herbert, who recommended this purchase. [comparative watercolour by Field: Sonning-on-Thames 1883 (auctioned in 2001)] Refs. AR 1872, p.21 (noting size as 9½ x
Fahey, Edward Henry (1844-1907; English) The Farm 1890 Watercolour on paper, c.39 x 57 cm Purchased, 1892 National Gallery of Victoria (p.434.2-1) This unassuming work was bought from the Anglo-Australian Exhibition held in Melbourne in 1892. Another watercolour by Fahey, The Dyer’s Brook, Kingswood 1888, was acquired for the Art Gallery of New South Wales in
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
Davies, Henry Easom (1831-68; English/Australian) The Wreck Watercolour, c.61 x 91.5 cm Purchased, 1871 Unidentified; present location unknown See also Davies (H.) View on the River Yarra {1871} SLV [WT], bought with the present work. Refs. AR 1871, p.41; NGV 1894, p.49 (II.Stawell Gallery, no.29: size given as 24 x 36 inches) [£16/16]
Davies, Henry Easom (1831-68; English/ Australian) View on the R[iver] Yarra near Richmond Watercolour on paper, 35.8 x 69.5 cm (sight) Purchased, 1871 State Library of Victoria (H26107) The artist, born in Cornwall, was in Melbourne by 1853. This work, reproduced in NGV 1894, seems to bear out an 1863 reviewer’s criticism of his watercolours as
Cook, Ebenezer Wake (1844-1926; English/Australian) Venice (Evening) 1889 Watercolour, c. 50.8 x 76.2 cm Purchased, 1892; de-accessioned 1945 Unidentified; present location unknown This work was shown at the 1892 Anglo-Australian Exhibition in Melbourne, according to NGV 1905. A note in the NGV’s stock-book indicates that it was de-accessioned and “donated to the Melb. Sailors’ Home,
Cook, Ebenezer Wake (1844-1926; English) Near Arundel 1882 Watercolour and gouache, 55.8 x 86.4 cm (image and sheet) Bequeathed by Alfred Felton, 1904 National Gallery of Victoria (150-2) This work exemplifies Ursula Hoff’s genial observation that, like many Australian collectors born in England, Felton had “an understandably nostalgic liking for English scenery” (see also Marshall A Bit
Clarke, George Row (c.1829-1908; English) View of King’s College, Cambridge 1872 Watercolour, c.38 x 61 cm Purchased, 1875 Unidentified; present location unknown The artist’s dates vary somewhat in different sources, although there is general agreement that he was active in London from c.1858-89. Several of his topographical watercolours have sold for modest prices at recent UK
Campi, Giacomo (1846-1921; Italian) Japanese Watercolour, c. 35.56 x 25.40 cm Purchased, 1876 Unidentified; present location unknown See Campi Emily {1876} Loc? [WT]; and for a comparative example, see artist entry. Refs. AR 1876, p.42; NGV 1894, p.49 (II.Stawell Gallery, no.34: size given as 14 x 10 inches); not listed in NGV 1905 [£4]
Campi, Giacomo (1846-1921; Italian) Emily Watercolour, c. 35.56 x 22.86 cm Purchased, 1876 (advice of Archibald Michie) Unidentified; present location unknown This work and Campi Japanese {1876} Loc? [WT] were acquired in London at the same time as two watercolours by Provaggi (described in NGV 1905 as bought on the advice of Michie, Victorian Agent-General). See artist entry
Buvelot, Louis (1814-88; Swiss/Australian) Yarra Flats 1871 Watercolour, 29.2 x 44.7 cm (image), 30.6 x 46.6 cm (sheet) Bequest of Alfred Felton, 1904 National Gallery of Victoria (152-2) Compare Buvelot Victorian scene {1904} NGV [WT], also from Felton’s collection, but almost certainly earlier in date. Refs. AR 1904, p.26; NGV 1905, p.47 (II.Stawell Gallery, no.37;
Buvelot, Louis (1814-88; Swiss/Australian) Victorian scene (c.1868) Watercolour, 17.5 x 25.8 cm (image) Bequest of Alfred Felton, 1904 National Gallery of Victoria (151-2) Daryl Lindsay observed in 1963 that the two Buvelot watercolours are among the few significant works selected from Felton’s personal collection in 1904. However, the conventions of Buvelot’s earlier European experience and
Burn, Henry (c.1807-84; English/Australian), attributed to Melbourne from the Old Sandridge Road in 1850 (c.1867?) Watercolour on paper, 38 x 58 cm Purchased, 1901 State Library of Victoria (H5201) The SLV lists the work detailed here as by Burn, c.1867, and indicates that it was accessioned in 1934. However, it seems likely that it is
Bundy, Edgar (1862-1922; English) To Sedgmoor 1901 Watercolour on paper, 41.4 x 16.8 cm (sheet) Purchased, 1901 National Gallery of Victoria (108-2) Bundy specialized in historical painting. His 1905 painting The Morning of Sedgmoor (Tate Gallery) depicts the prelude to the 1685 battle at which James II’s forces defeated the rebellious Duke of Monmouth, subsequently beheaded
Bromley, John Mallord (1858-1939; English) The Road that Skirts the Common (c.1885-90) Watercolour over traces of pencil with scratching out, on paper, 74.1 x 127.5 cm (sheet) Purchased, 1892 National Gallery of Victoria (p.432.4-1) This large, moody watercolour was bought from the Anglo-Australian exhibition held in Melbourne in 1892. In 2011-12, it was included in the
Brockbank, Albert Ernest (1862-1958; English) In the Cornfield Watercolour on paper, 49 x 74.5 cm (sight) Purchased, 1901 National Gallery of Victoria (101-2) Selected for Melbourne by the RA in 1901 (with Bell A Flight of Fairies 1901 {1901} NGV [WT] etc.). The artist worked in his native Liverpool as a portraitist and landscape-painter. This work is mounted
Brierly, Oswald (1817-94; English) Admiral Blake, with a squadron of five ships, blockading the royalist fleet, under command of Prince Rupert, in the Targus, 1650 Watercolour, 55.8 x 99 cm (sight) Purchased 1881 National Gallery of Victoria (p.168.5-1) This work was bought after being shown at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1881. Sir Oswald Brierly,
Blyth, Eliza (1820-94; English/Australian) [attrib.] Wildflowers [4?] Watercolours Purchased, 1872 Unidentified; present location unknown The NGV’s annual report for 1872 records the purchase of a watercolour of “Australian Flowers” by “Miss Blythe”, and four works ascribed to the same artist are listed under 1872 in the NGV’s unpublished record of early acquisitions (PF), identified as
Bell, Robert Anning (1863-1933; English) A Flight of Fairies 1901 Watercolour and gouache on paper, 49.6 x 62.4 cm (sheet) Purchased, 1901 (advice of the Royal Academy) National Gallery of Victoria (104-2) This typical Victorian/Edwardian fairy image, comparable for instance with the well-known illustrations of his contemporary Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), somehow escaped the attentions of
Austin, William (active 1850-84; Australian?) Arrival of the First Gold Escort, William Street, Melbourne, June 1852 Watercolour, 23.9 x 44.7 cm Purchased, 1884 State Library of Victoria (H26108) This scene is inscribed on the mount with the title shown above, followed by the words “by an eye-witness.” Austin, evidently the witness involved (although Downer & Phipps emphasise