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An image of The prospector by Julian Ashton

Julian Ashton

(England, Australia 27 Jan 1851–27 Apr 1942)

Title
The prospector
Year
1889
Media category
Painting
Materials used
oil on canvas on hardboard
Dimensions

213.4 x 116.9cm board; 233.0 x 137.3 x 5.5cm frame

Signature & date
Signed and dated l.l. corner, brown oil "J.R. ASHTON. 1889".
Credit
Purchased 1889
Accession number
4554
Location
19th c Australian art
Further information

This heroic representation of an Australian ‘type’ is more a character study than a portrait, recalling the artist’s work as a newspaper illustrator. Posed and painted in the studio, the work is formally arranged with the basic implements of the gold digger’s trade carefully displayed. It presents an image of the prospector as a genuine Australian fellow, stained by his labours and tanned by the sun.Though somewhat constructed and theatrical, the painting retains a sense of human vitality.

Julian Ashton instructed several generations of important painters through his Sydney Art School. He became a trustee of the Gallery in 1888, championing the purchase of Australian art, including many paintings hanging nearby.

Bibliography (39)

'Brief encounters: Literary travellers in Australia, 1836-1939' by Susannah Fullerton, pg. 29., Look Apr 2009, Apr 2009, 29 (colour illus.).

Patrick H McCarthy (Australia, b.1933) (Author), Bailed up: the story behind the painting, Sydney, 2006, 14-15, 16 (colour illus.).

Centenary of Federation: South Australia. South Australia, Federation and the twentieth century (Episode one: Utopia and the great Southern Land) 17 Oct 2001, 17 Oct 2001, 0:18.37-0:18.40 (colour illus., detail). 'Utopia and the Great Southern Land' was broadcoast on ABC television 17 October 2001.

The Australasian coin & banknote collectables magazine May 2001, May 2001, front cover (colour illus.). Special issue on gold and gold discoveries in Australia.

Elsie D May (Australia) (Author), Our guardian angels, Sussex, 2001, 41 (illus.).

Tom Stannage (Australia) (Author), Gold and civilisation, Canberra, 2001, 62 (colour illus., detail), 63, 73 (colour illus.).

'Organisation of the New South Wales display in Chicago', pg.18-45., Selling a nation: Australian artists at International Exhibitions [M.A., University of Sydney] 2001, 2001, between 28-29 (colour illus.), 29-31, 52. figure no. 14

Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Domain, 2000, 43 (colour illus.), 300.

Bruce James (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, Domain, 1999, 112 (colour illus.).

'Close-Ups of the Collection', pg. 34., The Art Gallery of New South Wales Bulletin Aug 1996-Oct 1996, Aug 1996-Oct 1996, 34 (colour illus.).

Michael Evans (Australia) (Author), Gold Fever! Life on the diggings 1851-1855, Canberra, 1994. Listed in catalogue under the heading "The true picture?". No cat. number.

Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Patricia McDonald (Editor), Haruo Arikawa (Japan) (Author), Chikashi Kitazaki (Japan) (Editor), Two hundred years of Australian painting: nature, people and art in the southern continent, Tokyo, 1992, 97 (colour illus.). cat.no. 52

Graeme Sturgeon (Australia, b.1936, d.1990) (Author), Australia - the painter's vision, Kensington, 1987, 110 (colour illus.), 111, 202. plate no. 66

Dinah Dysart (Australia) (Author), Julian Ashton 1851-1942, Sydney, 1982, 4, 11 (illus.), 14,. illus.no. 11, cat.no. 30

'Julian Ashton in modern perspective' by Tim McLachlan, pg. 48., The national times: Australia's national weekly of business and affairs. 08 Nov 1981-14 Nov 1981, 08 Nov 1981-14 Nov 1981, 48.

Dinah Dysart (Australia) (Author), Julian Ashton: essay on the artist (Volume I), Canberra, 1981, 42, 45 (illus.).

Dinah Dysart (Australia) (Author), Julian Ashton (Volume II), Canberra, 1981. Illustrations of sketches of the model used in 'The prospector'.

Geoff K. Gray Pty. Ltd. (Australia), Australian and European paintings, Monday 9th March, 1981, 6:30 p.m., Rosebery, 1981, 21, 22 (illus.). lot no. 204, 'Working the sluice', 1884

Terry Smith (Editor), Anthony Bradley (b.1936) (Editor), Australian art and architecture: essays presented to Bernard Smith, Melbourne, 1980, 107, 122.

Alan McCulloch (Australia, b.1907, d.1992) (Author), Artists of the Australian gold rush, Melbourne, 1977, back cover (colour illus., detail).

William Splatt (Author), Barbara Burton (Author), 100 masterpieces of Australian painting, Adelaide, 1973, 54, 55 (colour illus.). plate no. 24

Editor Unknown (Editor), Great Australian landscape paintings, Melbourne, 1973, (colour illus.). plate no. 16

Editor Unknown (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Domain, 1972, 77 (colour illus.).

James Gleeson (Australia, b.1915, d.2008) (Author), John Henshaw (New Zealand; Australia, b.1929, d.2006) (Editor), Impressionist painters 1881-1930, St Kilda, 1971, 23 (colour illus.), 83.

'Tom Roberts' by Daniel Thomas, pg. 466-487., Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly (Vol. 10, No. 4) Jul 1969, Jul 1969, 472.

Alan McCulloch (Australia, b.1907, d.1992) (Author), John Henshaw (New Zealand; Australia, b.1929, d.2006) (Editor), The golden age of Australian painting - Impressionism and the Heidelberg school, Melbourne, 1969, 114 (colour illus.). plate no. 56

Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), A catalogue of Australian oil paintings in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1875-1952, Sydney, 1953, 18. cat.no. 20

Hal Missingham (Australia, b.1906, d.1994) (Author), A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Domain, 1953. Section 3: cat.no. 42; titled 'The Prospector'

Grafton Galleries (England) (Author), Exhibition of Australian art in London, London, 1898, 20. cat.no. 91; titled 'The Prospector'; Lent by the Trustees of Sydney Gallery

'Pictures by Australian artists: Some have real artistic merit and the collection is credible', pg. 9., Chicago Daily Tribune 08 Jun 1893, 08 Jun 1893, 9.

National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1893, Sydney, 1893, 107. cat.no. 364, Loan collection to the Commissioners of the Chicago Exposition

Hubert Howe Bancroft (Australia, b.1832, d.1918) (Author), The book of the fair; an historical and descriptive presentation of the world's science, art, and industry, as viewed through the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893, Chicago, 1893, 729.

World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893: Catalogue of the exhibits in the New South Wales Courts, Sydney, 1893.

National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1891, Sydney, 1891, 66.

'The Art Gallery' by Vaurien, pg. 5., The Sydney Morning Herald 13 Dec 1890, 13 Dec 1890, 5.

'The Art Society's Exhibition', pg. 4., The Sydney Morning Herald 13 Dec 1890, 13 Dec 1890, 4.

'The Art Society's Exhibition', pg. 5., The Sydney Morning Herald 06 Sep 1890, 06 Sep 1890, 5.

Royal Art Society of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1880) (Author), Art Society of New South Wales Spring Exhibition Catalogue (1889), Sydney, 1889, 20, 21 (b&w line illus.). cat.no. 53; priced 150 guineas

Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales: Minutes 31.8.1880-4.8.1891 1880-1891, 1880-1891, 8 October 1889.

Exhibition history (12)

Tenth Annual Exhibition of the Art Society of New South Wales (1889), Society Rooms, Union Chambers, 1889 -.

World's Columbian Exposition, 1893, Jackson Park, Chicago, 01 May 1893–30 Oct 1893.

Exhibition of Australian art in London (1898), Grafton Galleries, 02 Apr 1898–31 Jul 1898.

A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953.

Julian Ashton, S.H. Ervin Gallery, 14 Nov 1981–31 Jan 1982.

Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 28 Apr 1992–28 Jun 1992.

Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 14 Jul 1992–06 Sep 1992.

Gold Fever! Life on the diggings 1851-1855, National Library of Australia, 25 Feb 1994–15 May 1994.

Gold Fever! Life on the diggings 1851-1855, Hyde Park Barracks, 17 Jun 1994–21 Aug 1994.

Gold Fever! Life on the diggings 1851-1855, Sovereign Hill Gold Museum, Ballarat, 16 Sep 1994–20 Nov 1994.

Gold and civilisation, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 11 Mar 2001–24 Jun 2001.

Gold and civilisation, Melbourne Museum, 18 Jul 2001–21 Oct 2001.