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An image of Apsley Falls

Conrad Martens

(England, Australia 1801–21 Aug 1878)

Title
Apsley Falls
Other titles:
Apsley Falls, New South Wales, View on the Apsley Ranges, New England, The Apsley Falls
Year
1874
Media
Watercolour
Medium
watercolour, opaque white, gum on paper
Dimensions
54.2 x 76.9cm sight; 70.2 x 92.5 x 6.5cm frame
Signature & date
Signed and dated l.r. corner, brown watercolour "C Martens/ 1874".
Credit
Commissioned by the Trustees and purchased 1874
Accession number
117
Location
Not on display
Further information

This watercolour is credited as the first Australian work of art to enter the Gallery's collection. It was commissioned in 1874 by the trustees of the NSW Academy of Art at a cost of £50, and in March 1875 was awarded a gold medal for watercolour at the NSW Academy of Art exhibition. It is slightly larger than an earlier commission (made in 1873) for another Apsley Falls watercolour by the trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Both watercolours were made from drawings Martens produced in 1852, on a trip to northern NSW and Queensland. Martens referred to the watercolour in his Account Book (State Library of NSW) and again on 28 October 1874: 'On the Apsely River. Size 31 x 22 fort he Academy'. The Apsely Falls are on the Oxley River near Waterloo, between Walcha and Port Macquarie.

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 (17)

Look (Jun 2006), Jill Sykes (Australia) (Editor), 10pm [print management] (Australia), Newtown, New South Wales, Australia.

Look (Apr 2005), Jill Sykes (Australia) (Editor), 10pm [print management] (Australia), Newtown, New South Wales, Australia.

19th century Australian watercolours, drawing and pastels from the Gallery's collection (2005), Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia) (Author), Patricia James (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (2000), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Australian watercolours 1880's to 1990's (1995), Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Conrad Martens: on the Beagle and in Australia (1993), Susanna de Vries (United Kingdom; Australia) (Author), Pandanus Press, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Nineteenth century Australian watercolours from the collection (1991), Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Twentieth century Australian watercolours from the collection (1989), Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook (1988), Annabel Davie (Editor), Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia), Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Early painters of Australia, 1788-1880 (1988), Shar Jones (Author), Jennifer Phipps (Australia) (Editor), Bay Books Pty. Ltd. (Australia), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales (1986), Deborah Edwards (Australia) (Author), Orange Regional Gallery (Australia, estab. 1986), New South Wales, Australia.

Hemisphere (May 1982-Jun 1982), Department of Education and Science (Australia, estab. 1957, closed 1984) (Editor), Department of Education and Science (Australia, estab. 1957, closed 1984), North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Australian art in the 1870s (1976), Daniel Thomas (Author), Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Art and Australia [vol. 10, no. 1] (Jul 1972), Mervyn Horton (Australia, b.1917, d.1983) (Editor), Ure Smith Pty. Ltd. (Australia), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly (Oct 1963), Hal Missingham (Australia, b.1906, d.1994) (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Fourth Annual Exhibition of Works of Colonial Art 1875 (1875), NSW Academy of Art (Australia, estab. 1871, closed 1880) (Author), NSW Academy of Art (Australia, estab. 1871, closed 1880), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Fourth Annual Report of the New South Wales Academy of Art 1874-75 (1875), NSW Academy of Art (Australia, estab. 1871, closed 1880) (Author), NSW Academy of Art (Australia, estab. 1871, closed 1880), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Exhibition history (10)

19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels, (06 Apr 2005–24 Jul 2005), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000.

Nineteenth century Australian watercolours from the collection (1991), (13 Apr 1991–07 Jul 1991), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000.

Australian Collection Focus: Waterfall, (17 May 2006–16 Jul 2006), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000.

Two centuries of Australian painting, a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, (19 Apr 1986–15 Jun 1986), at Orange Regional Gallery (Australia, estab. 1986), Civic Square Byng Street Orange, NSW Australia 2800.

Australian art in the 1870s (1976), (25 Jun 1976–02 Aug 1976), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000.

Australian art in the 1870s (1976), (28 Oct 1976–21 Nov 1976), at National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road] (Australia, estab. 1968, closed 1999), 180 St Kilda Road Melbourne Victoria Australia 3000.

Loan exhibition of watercolour paintings by English artists, (Aug 1875), at NSW Academy of Art (Australia, estab. 1871, closed 1880), Clarke's Assembly Rooms Elizabeth Street Sydney.

Loan collection of pictures from the National Gallery of New South Wales (1937), (Feb 1937–Mar 1937), at National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000.

Loan collection of pictures from the National Gallery of New South Wales (1937), (Feb 1937–Mar 1937), at Auckland City Art Gallery (New Zealand, estab. 1888), Corner of Wellesley and Kitchener Streets PO Box 5449 Auckland, New Zealand.

Fourth annual exhibition of works of colonial art, (Mar 1875), at NSW Academy of Art (Australia, estab. 1871, closed 1880), Clarke's Assembly Rooms Elizabeth Street Sydney.