Tom Roberts
(England, Australia 08 Mar 1856–14 Sep 1931)
- Title
- Grey lady (Mrs Ince)
- Place of origin
-
London →
England
- Year
- (circa 1910-circa 1912)
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
-
76.1 x 63.3cm board; 92.7 x 77.5 x 8.2cm frame
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1946
- Accession number
- 7636
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Painted in London where Roberts had settled in 1903 the stylish subject and relatively complex composition of this portrait reveal his ambition to attain the respected status of then fashionable portraitists such as Gainsborough and Wilson Steer. However the painting dates from a troubled period when Roberts met continued rejection by the Royal Academy. On the advice of young fellow Australian expatriate artist James Quinn, he reduced the range of colours in his palette to yellow ochre, light red, white and black, producing a number of fine works of similar low-key tonality and delicate sensitivity.
His paint-handling in this portrait, using thickly applied yet dry-looking pigment, was to form the basis of his approach to the works he produced following his return to Australia in 1923.
- Bibliography (10)
-
Inverell Art Gallery (Australia) (Author), Tom Roberts Art Exhibition. Tom Roberts Festival 2001, Inverell, 2001, 3. cat.no. 6
Look Apr 1997, Apr 1997, 6 (illus.).
Ron Radford (Australia, b.1949) (Author), Humphrey McQueen (Author), Mary Eagle (Australia, b.1944) (Author), Virginia Spate (Australia) (Author), Daniel Thomas (Author), Jane Hylton (b.1950) (Author), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Leigh Astbury (b.1950) (Author), Helen Topliss (Australia) (Author), Roger Butler (Australia, b.1948) (Author), Jane Hylton (b.1950) (Author), Tom Roberts, Adelaide, 1996, 88, 90, 91 (colour illus.), 213 (illus.).
Helen Topliss (Australia) (Author), Tom Roberts 1856-1931: a catalogue raisonné. Volume 2 - Plates, Melbourne, 1985, (illus.). plate no. 186
Helen Topliss (Australia) (Author), Tom Roberts 1856-1931: a catalogue raisonné. Volume 1 - Text, Melbourne, 1985, 182. cat.no. 422
Virginia Spate (Australia) (Author), Tom Roberts, Melbourne, 1978, 124, 125 (illus.), 148. illus.no. 48
Virginia Spate (Australia) (Author), Tom Roberts, Melbourne, 1972, 124, 123 (colour illus.). illus.no. 48
'Tom Roberts' by Daniel Thomas, pg. 466-487., Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly (Vol. 10, No. 4) Jul 1969, Jul 1969, 480 (illus.), 481.
Hal Missingham (Australia, b.1906, d.1994) (Author), A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Domain, 1953. cat.no. 94
'Gallery buys Roberts' works', pg. 4., The Sydney Morning Herald 23 Feb 1946, 23 Feb 1946, 4.
- Exhibition history (9)
-
110 Years of Australian Art, Blaxland Gallery, Sep 1950 -.
A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953.
Tom Roberts (1996-1997), Art Gallery of South Australia, 05 Oct 1996–17 Nov 1996.
Tom Roberts (1996-1997), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 30 Nov 1996–27 Jan 1997.
Tom Roberts (1996-1997), National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], 12 Feb 1997–06 Apr 1997.
Tom Roberts (1996-1997), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 19 Apr 1997–01 Jun 1997.
Tom Roberts (1996-1997), Art Gallery of Western Australia, 11 Jun 1997–27 Jul 1997.
Tom Roberts Festival (2001), Inverell Art Gallery, 27 Apr 2001–06 May 2001.
Tom Roberts Festival - Portraiture (2006), Inverell Art Gallery, 22 Apr 2006–05 May 2006.
