Title
Sir Henry Parkes
(circa 1894)
Artist
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Details
- Other Titles
- Sir Henry Parkes, G.C.M.G.
The late Sir Henry Parkes, G.C.M.G. - Place where the work was made
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New South Wales
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Australia
- Date
- (circa 1894)
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 76.7 x 64.0 cm stretcher; 102.5 x 87.5 x 11.5 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed l.l., oil "Tom Roberts".
- Credit
- Gift of Howard Hinton 1922
- Location
- Grand Courts
- Accession number
- 988
- Copyright
- Artist information
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Tom Roberts
Works in the collection
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About
Tom Roberts greatly admired Sir Henry Parkes, the five-time premier of New South Wales and leading figure in Australia’s Federation movement during the 1880s and 1890s. Roberts painted two versions of Parkes’ portrait in his effort to chronicle Australia’s nascent national identity at the turn of the century.
This version of Roberts’ portrait is distinguished for the dramatic force of its darkened aesthetic. Roberts creates a sense of inner complexity and alludes to the unknowable aspects of the identity of the celebrity statesman. He employs blackened depth to have Parkes' figure emerge in a play of light and colour harmonies.
Roberts was ambivalent about working in the portrait genre, but this painting demonstrates an inspired capacity to accommodate representational qualities, psychological suggestion and the modern painter’s emphasis on essence and atmosphere.
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Places
Where the work was made
New South Wales
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Exhibition history
Shown in 6 exhibitions
Society of Artists Spring Exhibition (1896), Cliff Gallery, Sydney, 05 Sep 1896 -
Exhibition of Australian art in London (1898), Grafton Galleries, London, 02 Apr 1898–31 Jul 1898
Exhibition and sale of paintings by Tom Roberts, previous to his leaving Australia., Society of Artists, Sydney, 14 Nov 1900 -
Loan exhibition of Australian Art (1918), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Apr 1918–1918
Tom Roberts Festival - Portraiture (2006), Inverell Art Gallery, Inverell, 22 Apr 2006–05 May 2006
Grand Courts Collection Rehang, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Nov 2021–2025
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Bibliography
Referenced in 12 publications
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Grafton Galleries, Exhibition of Australian art in London, London, 1898, 22. titled 'Sir Henry Parkes, G.C.M.G.'; cat.no. 109
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Peter Haynes (Compilator), Famous people: a selective who's who from works in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1981, 12 (illus.).
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Geoff Hocking, Currency lads & lasses: behind the faces on Australian banknotes, 'Sir Henry Parkes 1815-1896', pg. 88-105, South Melbourne, 2004, 88 (colour illus.), 89.
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Lionel Lindsay, Howard Hinton memorial exhibition, 'Howard Hinton, OBE', pg. 2-3, Sydney, 1948, 8. cat.no. 40; not exhibited as on loan to National Gallery of Victoria.
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Patrick H. McCarthy, Bailed up: the story behind the painting, ‘Tom Roberts, Bushranging and Bailed Up’, pg. 45-90, Sydney, 2006, 75, 117, 119, 141.
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National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Loan exhibition of Australian art: collection of paintings and drawings by Australian artists executed during the last 25 to 35 Years, Sydney, 1918, 22. titled ‘Sir Henry Parkes Parkes G.C.M.G.’; cat.no. 234
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New South Wales Society of Artists, The Society of Artists Second Spring Exhibition, Sydney, Sep 1896, 9. titled ‘The late Sir Henry Parkes, G.C.M.G.’; cat.no. 72; priced £105.0.0
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Virginia Spate, Tom Roberts, Melbourne, 1978, 113 (illus.), 149. illus.no. 38
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Daniel Thomas, Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, 'Tom Roberts', pg. 466-487, Sydney, Jul 1969, 474, 475 (illus.).
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Helen Topliss, Tom Roberts 1856-1931: a catalogue raisonné. Volume 1 - Text, Melbourne, 1985, 123, 124. cat.no. 228
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Helen Topliss, Tom Roberts 1856-1931: a catalogue raisonné. Volume 2 - Plates, Melbourne, 1985, (colour illus.). plate no. 228
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Editor Unknown (Editor), Exhibition and sale of paintings by Tom Roberts, previous to his leaving Australia., Sydney, Nov 1900. titled ‘The late Sir Henry Parkes, G.C.M.G.’; cat.no. 7; priced 100 guineas
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