Collection
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Title
Smike Streeton age 24
1891
About
Tom Roberts' portrait of his close friend and colleague Arthur Streeton was made in Sydney in 1891, and Roberts kept it until his death. It is a 'friendship portrait' – informal and highly personal, expressive of the bond of camaraderie and respect between the two artists.
Roberts probably painted the oil while camping with Streeton at Little Sirius Cove on Sydney Harbour. Although Roberts is perhaps better known for his grand subject paintings and landscapes during the 1890s, he was also an outstanding portrait painter. Over a third of his artistic output was devoted to portraiture, and throughout his life he largely supported himself through commissions in this genre.
Details
Date
1891
Materials used
oil on canvas
Dimensions
45.7 x 35.7 cm stretcher; 61.5 x 51.5 x 6.0 cm frame
Signature & date
Signed and dated l.l. corner, incised "TOM ROBERTS 91.".
Credit
Purchased 1945
Accession number
7442


Place
Where the work was made
Sydney
Shown in 14 exhibitions
Exhibition history
A memorial exhibition of paintings by the late Tom Roberts (1932), Fine Arts Society Gallery, Melbourne, 21 Jun 1932–02 Jul 1932
Tom Roberts - Retrospective Exhibition:
- Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Nov 1947–Jan 1948
- National Gallery of Victoria [Swanston Street], Melbourne Nov 1947–Jan 1948
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Nov 1947–Jan 1948
A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953
Artists by artists (1954), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Nov 1954–05 Dec 1954
Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary (1962-63):
- National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide 17 Mar 1962–31 Mar 1962
- Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth 23 Sep 1962–24 Oct 1962
- Tate Britain, England 24 Jan 1963–03 Mar 1963
The artists' camps: Plein air painting in Melbourne 1885-1898:
- Monash University Gallery, Clayton 07 Jun 1984–11 Jul 1984
- S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks 02 Aug 1984–04 Sep 1984
Bohemians in the bush: the artists' camps of Mosman, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 06 Jun 1991–25 Aug 1991
Uncommon Australians: Towards an Australian Portrait Gallery:
- National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne 06 May 1992–28 Jun 1992
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 10 Jul 1992–09 Aug 1992
- Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane 25 Aug 1992–20 Sep 1992
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 22 Oct 1992–22 Nov 1992
- Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide 03 Dec 1992–31 Jan 1993
Tom Roberts (1996-1997):
- Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide 05 Oct 1996–17 Nov 1996
- Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart 30 Nov 1996–27 Jan 1997
- National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne 12 Feb 1997–06 Apr 1997
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 19 Apr 1997–01 Jun 1997
- Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth 11 Jun 1997–27 Jul 1997
Inaugural permanent display, National Portrait Gallery [Old Parliament House], Canberra, 04 Mar 1999–04 Mar 2000
Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000
Australian Impressionism, Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne, 31 Mar 2007–08 Jul 2007
Impressions: painting light and life, National Portrait Gallery [Parliamentary Zone], Canberra, 25 Nov 2011–04 Mar 2012
Tom Roberts Retrospective, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 04 Dec 2015–28 Mar 2016
Referenced in 41 publications
Bibliography
Leigh Ashtbury, Tom Roberts, 'Masculinity and Modernity', pg. 124, Adelaide, 1996, 138, 139 (colour illus.), 203 (illus.).
Alison Barclay, Herald Sun, 'Artist's secret love', pg. 18, Port Melbourne, 13 Jun 2007, 18 (colour illus.).
Images in opposition: Australian landscape painting 1801–1890, 'The artist in society', pg. 1-22, Melbourne, 1985, 19 (illus.), 175. titled 'Arthur Streeton'
Paintings of Tom Roberts, Adelaide, 1962, 20, 21 (colour illus.). titled 'Smike'; plate missing from AGNSW copy
Art Gallery of New South Wales: highlights from the collection, Sydney, 2008, 59 (colour illus.).
Jane Clark, Golden summers: Heidelberg and beyond, 'Sydney Harbour', pg. 151-152, Melbourne, 1985, 154 (colour illus.).
Geoffrey Dutton, Famous Australian Art - Tom Roberts 1856-1931, Brisbane, 1987, 41 (colour illus.).
Sarah Engledow, Impressions: painting light & life, Catalogue essay, pg. 7-16, Canberra, 2011, 11, 72 (caption), 73 (colour illus.). cat.no. 28
Uncommon Australians: towards an Australian portrait gallery, Sydney, 1992, 80 (colour illus.).
Elizabeth Fortescue, Daily telegraph, 'Love's lasting impress', pg. 84, Sydney, 16 Jun 2007, 84 (colour illus.).
Tom Roberts, 'Harmonic arrangements: Tom Roberts' painting' Anne Gray, pg. 31-60, Canberra, 2015, 45, 186 (colour illus.), 187, 223, 350. cat.no. 57
Janet Hawley, Good Weekend, 'Tom Roberts Bailed Up', pg. 32-39, Sydney, 24 Feb 1996, 37 (colour illus.).
Jeanette Hoorn, Reframing Darwin: evolution and the arts in Australia, 'Tom Roberts' portrait of Charlie Turner and Darwin's expression of the emotions in man and animals', pg. 118-135, Carlton, 2009, 128 (colour illus.).
Melissa Iaria, Courier Mail, 'Secret love long lost, but its ghost lingers', pg. 4, Queensland, 13 Jun 2007, 4 (colour illus.).
19th century Australian watercolours, drawing and pastels from the Gallery's collection, Sydney, 2005, 84 (colour illus.).
Pat Kreuiter, Look, 'Learning to look at art: Introducing and inspiring art lovers of the future', pg. 12-13, Sydney, Oct 2008, 12 (colour illus.). A group of school children are pictured in front of the painting.
Terence Lane, Age, 'Southern lights', pg. 14, Melbourne, 24 Mar 2007, 14 (illus.).
Streeton memorial exhibition souvenir catalogue, Sydney, 1945, (illus.).
The golden age of Australian painting - Impressionism and the Heidelberg school, Melbourne, 1969, (colour illus.). plate no. 30
Art of Australia. Vol 1: Exploration to Federation, ‘The only truly representative Australian school of painting’, pg. 357-418, Sydney, 2008, 395 (colour illus.).
Tom Roberts, Sydney, 1996, 640.
A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Sydney, 1953. titled 'Athur Streeton'; cat.no. 58
Tom Roberts exhibition, National Art Gallery of NSW: souvenir catalogue, Sydney, 1947, 11. titled ‘Sir Arthur Streeton’; cat.no. 13
Bohemians in the bush: the artists' camps of Mosman, Sydney, 1991, 78-79. cat.no. 63
Jeff Rigby., Oz Arts magazine [issue 9], 'Fire's on: the circumstances surrounding the painting by Arthur Streeton of 'Fire's on!' and the Lapstone railway tunnel deviation of 1891', Wentworth Falls, Spring 2016, (colour illus.).
Place, taste and tradition: a study of Australian art since 1788, 'Impressionism in Australia', pg. 112-145, South Melbourne, 1979, 2 (illus.), 11. frontispiece
Terry Smith, Australian cultural history, 'Populism and Privilege in Australian Painting', pg. 190-210, Cambridge, 1988, cover (illus.), 195-96, 206 (illus.). plate no. 6
Tom Roberts, 'Roberts' portraiture', pg. 104-120, Melbourne, 1978, 109 (colour illus.), 117. plate no. 29
Daniel Thomas, Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, 'Tom Roberts', pg. 466-487, Sydney, Jul 1969, 469 (illus.), 471.
The artists' camps 'plein air' painting in Australia, Victoria, 1992, 58 (colour illus.). plate no. 61
Tom Roberts 1856-1931: a catalogue raisonné. Volume 1 - Text, Melbourne, 1985, 120, 121. cat.no. 173
Tom Roberts 1856-1931: a catalogue raisonné. Volume 2 - Plates, Melbourne, 1985, (colour illus.). plate no. 82
Angus Trumble, Australian Impressionism, 'Colony and Capital in Australian Impressionist Portraiture', pg. 181-187, Melbourne, 2007, 186, 335, 192 (colour illus.). cat.no. 10.9
Australian painting: colonial, impressionist, contemporary, Adelaide, 1962, 40. cat.no. 47
Robin Usher, Age, 'A Florry of activity', pg. 16, Melbourne, 13 Jun 2007, 16 (colour illus.).
Robin Usher, The Sydney Morning Herald, 'Smike ♥ Florry: Streeton's hidden message of love', pg. 11, Sydney, 13 Jun 2007, 11 (colour illus.).
Vivienne Webb, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Golden age', pg. 37-38, Sydney, 2000, 38, 45 (colour illus.), 300.
A memorial exhibition of paintings by the late Tom Roberts (1932), Melbourne, 1932. titled ‘Portrait, Arthur Streeton, 1881’; cat.no. 45; not paginated
The Adelaide Festival of Arts 1962: Special exhibitions at the National Gallery of South Australia, 'Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary', Adelaide, 1962. titled 'Portrait of Arthur Streeton'; cat.no. 53; not paginated
unknown author, Look, 'Tom Roberts', pg. 14, Heidelberg, Apr 1997, 7 (illus.), 15 (colour illus.).
To paint a war: The lives of the Australian artists who painted the Great War, 1914-1918, Port Melbourne, 2017, 3 (colour illus.).