Title
Land auction, main road Ballarat - interval of ten minutes for harmony and refreshment
1854
Artist
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Details
- Other Title
- Land auction, Main Road, Ballarat
- Place where the work was made
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Ballarat
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Victoria
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Australia
- Date
- 1854
- Media category
- Drawing
- Materials used
- pencil, grey wash on buff paper
- Dimensions
- 26.8 x 37.8 cm sheet
- Signature & date
Signed l.l. corner, pencil "S.T.G". Dated l.r. corner, pencil "... 1854/ ...".
- Credit
- Purchased 1985
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 190.1985
- Copyright
- Artist information
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S T Gill
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
The son of a Baptist minister and schoolmaster, Samuel Thomas Gill was educated at his father's school in Devonshire, England, where his ability to draw was first noticed. He came to Australia with his parents in 1839 and soon after set himself up in a studio in Adelaide, advertising:
'He solicits the attendance of such individuals as are desirous of obtaining correct likenesses of themselves, families, or friends ... Correct resemblances of horses, dogs &c. with local scenery, &c. executed to order. Residences sketched and transfered to paper ...' ('South Australian Register' March 1840, see 'S T Gill, the South Australian years 1839-1852', Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 1986, pg. 1).
Gill is best known for his drawings, watercolours and lithographs of early colonial life and landscapes in South Australia, Victoria and NSW. He took an interest in the exploits of explorers Edward John Eyre and Charles Sturt and accompanied John Horrocks on his ill-fated expedition north of the Flinders Ranges in 1846. His images of life on the Victorian goldfields are among his most memorable, resulting in several lithographic series between 1852 and 1855. There are also two series of Sydney lithographs, dated 1856. A keen sense of humour is a feature of his work and a capacity for revealing the essentials of a subject.
excerpt from Hendrik Kolenberg, Anne Ryan and Patricia James, '19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels in the Gallery's collection', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005
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Exhibition history
Shown in 4 exhibitions
Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 26 Sep 1986–23 Nov 1986
Everyday Life, prints, drawings and watercolours from the collections of Australian and European Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 01 Oct 1994–27 Nov 1994
Everyday Life, prints, drawings and watercolours from the collections of Australian and European Art, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, , 04 Mar 1995–01 Apr 1995
Everyday Life, prints, drawings and watercolours from the collections of Australian and European Art, Griffith Regional Art Gallery, , 03 May 1995–03 Jun 1995
Everyday Life, prints, drawings and watercolours from the collections of Australian and European Art, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Australia, 22 Jun 1995–30 Jul 1995
Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 Dec 1997–15 Mar 1998
19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 06 Apr 2005–24 Jul 2005
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Bibliography
Referenced in 4 publications
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Art Gallery of New South Wales, Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Sydney, 1986, (illus.). cat.no. 219
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Hendrik Kolenberg, Anne Ryan and Patricia James, 19th century Australian watercolours, drawing and pastels from the Gallery's collection, Sydney, 2005, 46 (colour illus.).
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Hendrik Kolenberg, Everyday life: prints drawings and watercolours from the collections of Australian and European art, Sydney, 1994. cat.no. 32
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Hendrik Kolenberg, Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, Sydney, 1997, 20 (illus.). cat.no. 4
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