S T Gill
(England, Australia 21 May 1818–27 Oct 1880)
- Title
- Overlanders
- Other titles:
- The overlanders
- Year
- (circa 1865)
- Media category
- Watercolour
- Materials used
- pencil, watercolour, white gouache
- Dimensions
-
33.5 x 58.5cm sheet
- Signature & date
- Signed l.l. corner, brown watercolour "STG". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1946
- Accession number
- 7721
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
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
- Bibliography (7)
-
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia) (Author), Patricia James (Author), 19th century Australian watercolours, drawing and pastels from the Gallery's collection, Domain, 2005, 47 (colour illus.).
Bruce James (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, Domain, 1999, 186 (colour illus.).
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Nineteenth century Australian watercolours from the collection, Sydney, 1991. cat.no. 26; not paginated
Jane de Teliga (Australia) (Author), Australian images: Prints, drawings and watercolours from the collection, Sydney, 1979, 5.
Editor Unknown (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Domain, 1972, 67 (colour illus.).
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), Australian Painting 1788-1960, South Melbourne, 1962, 36 (illus.).
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), Trustees of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia), 100 years of Australian painting, Sydney, 1948, 13. watercolours cat.no. 3; titled 'The overlanders'; note: by 'Thomas Gill'
- Exhibition history (4)
-
100 years of Australian painting (1948), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 19 Apr 1948–17 May 1948.
Australian images: Prints, drawings and watercolours from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 22 Dec 1979–28 Jan 1980.
Nineteenth century Australian watercolours from the collection (1991), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 Apr 1991–07 Jul 1991.
19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 06 Apr 2005–24 Jul 2005.
