Title

A waterhole on the Hawkesbury River

1885

Artist

Julian Ashton

England, Australia

27 Jan 1851 – 27 Apr 1942

Alternate image of A waterhole on the Hawkesbury River by Julian Ashton

Details

Other Title

Waterhole on the Hawkesbury

Place where the work was made

Hawkesbury River → Sydney → New South Wales → Australia

Date

1885

Media category

Painting

Materials used

oil on canvas

Dimensions

59.0 x 95.0 cm; 93.0 x 128.4 x 12.8cm frame

Signature & date

Signed and dated l.r., "J.R. ASHTON/ 1885".

Credit

Transferred to the Gallery by the Colonial Secretary 1892

Location

Not on display

Accession number

5892

Copyright

Reproduction requests

Artist information

Julian Ashton
Works in the collection

30

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About

Julian Ashton deliberately fostered an identifiable Australian Art and he was to prove enormously influential in the capacity of administrator and teacher in Sydney in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Ashton's most consistent advice was to paint the landscape, in front of the motif and although his own canvases rarely bear witness to this advice, many significant painters in the early twentieth century heeded it.

In 1884 Ashton and A.J. Daplyn camped on the banks of the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, and this work is a result of that trip. Sketching for the 'Picturesque Atlas of Australasia' made Ashton more aware of particular traits of specific locales and painting with Buvelot in 1880 may also have heightened a receptivity to different atmospheric effects. Under Ashton's influence Richmond and the Hawkesbury were to become much frequented by artists in subsequent decades.

except from 'Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales', exhibition catalogue, AGNSW & Orange Regional Gallery, 1986

© Australian Art Department, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2006
Exhibition history
Shown in 6 exhibitions
- Sixth Annual Exhibition of the Art Society of New South Wales (1885), Sydney Town Hall, Australia, 30 Mar 1885 -
- Julian Ashton, S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 14 Nov 1981–31 Jan 1982
- Australian arcady: landscape paintings from the collection of the the Art Galery of New South Wales, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, 21 Apr 1983–22 May 1983
  
  Australian arcady: landscape paintings from the collection of the the Art Galery of New South Wales, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, Emu Plains, 27 May 1983–19 Jun 1983
  
  Australian arcady: landscape paintings from the collection of the the Art Galery of New South Wales, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Australia, 25 Jun 1983–22 Jul 1983
  
  Australian arcady: landscape paintings from the collection of the the Art Galery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 26 Aug 1983–30 Sep 1983
- A century of Australian landscape painting: mood and moment, Peking Art Gallery, Beijing, Oct 1983–Dec 1983
  
  A century of Australian landscape painting: mood and moment, Shanghai Art Gallery, Shanghai, Oct 1983–Dec 1983
- Two centuries of Australian painting, a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange, 19 Apr 1986–15 Jun 1986
- Fieldwork, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, 17 Jul 2020–20 Sep 2020
  
  Fieldwork, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland, 28 Nov 2020–07 Feb 2021
  
  Fieldwork, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, Emu Plains, 12 Mar 2021–09 May 2021
Bibliography
Referenced in 11 publications
- Dinah Dysart, Julian Ashton 1851-1942, Sydney, 1982, 13. cat.no. 19
- Deborah Edwards, Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Introduction', pg. 8-14, Sydney, 1986, 20 (illus.). cat.no. 7
- James Gleeson, Impressionist painters 1881-1930, St Kilda, 1971, 22 (colour illus.), 83. plate no. 9; titled 'A waterhole on the Hawkesbury'
- National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1893, Sydney, 1893. cat.no. 356; Australian Court
- National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1899, Sydney, 1899. cat.no. 247; Oil Paintings - Australian
- National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1891, Sydney, 1891, (Addendum). titled 'Waterhole on the Hawkesbury'
- Barry Pearce, A century of Australian landscape: mood and moment, Sydney, 1983, 14, 28 (colour illus.). cat.no. 11
- Ursula Prunster, Australian arcady: Landscape paintings from the Art Gallery of New South Wales collection, Sydney, 1983, illus.. cat.no. 5 Note no pagination.
- Royal Art Society of New South Wales, Art Society of New South Wales Sixth Annual Exhibition Catalogue, Sydney, 1885, 17. cat.no. 43; titled 'A Waterhole on the Hawkesbury River'; price: £50-0-0
- Bernard William Smith, A catalogue of Australian oil paintings in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1875-1952, Sydney, 1953, 18.
- Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales: Minutes 1.9.1891-4.5.1898, Sydney, 1891-1898, 4 October 1892.