art education and access · miss robertson of colac (dolly) 1885–86 colac and melbourne, victoria...

About this kitThis resource has been designed for secondary students to use in the classroom and as an introduction to the exhibition Robert Dowling: Tasmanian son of Empire. The images on the eight cards can be displayed or used in conjunction with the Resource pamphlet for individual or group work. Information is provided for each image and discussion and further activities have also been suggested.

Exhibition touring datesQueen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania 6 March – 25 April 2010

Geelong Gallery, Geelong, Victoria 8 May – 11 July 2010

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT 24 July – 3 October 2010

This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians and Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia. The Exhibition Partners for Robert Dowling: Tasmanian son of Empire are Manteena and the National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund. The exhibition is also supported by Media Partner ABC Local Radio.

Robert Dowling Mrs Adolphus Sceales with Black Jimmie on Merrang Station 1856 (detail) oil on canvas mounted on plywood 76 x 101.5 cmNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra purchased from the Founding Donors Fund 1984

The National Gallery of Australia is an Australian Government Agency

ROBERT DOWLINGTasmanian son of Empire

EDUCATION RESOURCEfor secondary school students


art education and access

National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program

National Gallery of Australia Council Exhibitions Fund

Media PartnerExhibition Partners

© National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical (including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system), without permission from the publisher.

nga.gov.au

Developed by NGA Education and produced by NGA Publishing in conjunction with the exhibition Robert Dowling: Tasmanian son of Empire


Jeremiah Ware’s stock on Minjah Station 1856 Minjah Station and Geelong, Victoriaoil on canvas74.5 x 100.5 cmArt Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

Mrs Mary Overton Gift Fund 1997

Minjah Station belonged to the Ware brothers and was one of the big pastoral properties (also called homesteads or stations) of the Western District of Victoria. Joseph Ware lived on this station and the cattle pastured here belonged to his brother Jeremiah, a well known cattle breeder. These Shorthorn and Ayrshire cattle were bred to be very meaty—to have beef ‘to the ankles’. These cattle are viewed from the side to show off their prime condition. A bull called ‘Master Butterfly’ takes pride of place in the foreground. He was bought in England for a large sum of money but later died in Australia from heatstroke.

In the distance the old homestead that would shortly be replaced by a large mansion can be seen. Robert Dowling shows it in late afternoon sunshine and with great skill includes many details around the homestead. Though not visible in reproduction, the painting depicts people going about their daily work. It is a scene of contentment, peace and well-being and pays tribute to the settlers’ hard labour.

Activities

• Locate the Western District of Victoria on a map. Artists such as Eugene von Guérard (1811–1901) Thomas Clark (c 1814 – 1883) Nicholas Chevalier (1828–1902) and Louis Buvelot (1814–1888) were commissioned to paint properties in this area. Look at a number of works of art by these artists, eg Eugene von Guerard’s Koort-Koort-Nong homestead, near Camperdown Victoria 1860, on the National Gallery of Australia’s website at artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=170527

• Create a contemporary homestead scene using collage. Include various breeds of livestock that are seen on rural properties today.


Masters George, William and Miss Harriet Ware with the Aborigine Jamie Ware 1856Minjah Station and Geelong, Victoriaoil on canvas63.7 x 76.4 cm

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Eleanor M Borrow Bequest 2007

In the history of Colonial art there are few other paintings or photographs which display such a warm relationship between Aboriginal people and European settlers.

Underneath a great gum tree the young heir to the Minjah property, George, holds a stick. His brother William sits next to him. Both wear identical jackets and short skirts, which were the fashion for boys at the time. Harriet, their sister, holds a summer hat and affectionately leans on the Aborigine Jamie’s knee. The children’s small pet dog sits at his feet. The smartly dressed Jamie, a Mopor Aborigine, worked as a trusted guardian to the children and as a personal assistant to their father, Joseph. Jamie’s place within the Ware family, and the friendship and trust Joseph Ware held for him, is shown in this group portrait.

Activities

• Portrait photography became popular in Australia in the 1860s. Refer to Gael Newton’s Shades of light: photography and Australia 1839–1988, to consider the influence of photography on portrait painting. This book is also available online at Photo-web photo-web.com.au/ShadesofLight/

• Draw a group portrait of your friends imitating the poses found in Dowling’s painting of the Ware children with Jamie Ware. How could a camera be useful in creating your image?


Miriam 1864London oil on canvas 91 x 70.5 cmWarrnambool Art Gallery, Victoria

gift of Joseph Ware

Robert Dowling grew up in a religious home, where the bible was read daily. His father was the first Baptist minister in Tasmania. In London during the 1860s and 70s, Dowling painted a large number of works based on Bible stories. He even visited Palestine to make them more authentic.

The subject of Miriam comes from the Old Testament story of Moses. To avoid the slaughter of all newborn Hebrew males by the Egyptian Pharaoh, Miriam hid her brother Moses in the bulrushes of the Nile River. The artist shows the sorrow and concern just before Miriam took Moses away. Moses’s mother, Jochebed, looks heavenward, as she cradles him in her lap. His father Amran stands in the doorway.

This painting shows how Robert Dowling was influenced by a group of 19th-century English painters called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. These artists tried to express something through their paintings that was often inspired by a passage from the bible or literature. Their paintings were full of symbolism. These artists used rich colours and gave attention to costume and historical detail.

Activities

• Read the Bible story, in the Book of Exodus, chapters 1 and 2. How has Dowling hinted at the events that are about to occur? Describe the way each family member feels and the overall effect this creates.

• Use paintings by John Everett Millais (1829–96) Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–82) and William Holman Hunt (1824–79) to study the way the Pre-Raphaelites were inspired by literature or biblical passages. Create an image inspired by a poem, a song or a film.

RO

BE

RT

DO

WLI

NG

Tasm

ania

n so

n of

Em

pire


Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly) 1885–86Colac and Melbourne, Victoriaoil on canvas 91 x 120 cmNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra purchased with the assistance

of the Masterpieces of the Nation Fund 2010

This is a portrait of nineteen-year-old Elise Christian Margaret Robertson, who was known as ‘Dolly’ by her family. It was painted in the garden of her father’s property, The Hill, near Colac. Dolly came from a pioneering family of the Western District of Victoria.

Robert Dowling first painted Dolly in a white summer dress. She was unhappy with the result and asked him to paint her in a dark brown dress instead—which he did. He also added other things to the composition, including a Japanese cushion and tea set, as well as a plate of vanilla slices.

After a long successful career in London, often showing his paintings in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy, Dowling returned to Australia and to Melbourne in 1884, which was then one of the fastest growing and wealthiest cities in the British Empire. He became the most popular portrait painter in the city and opened a studio on fashionable Collins Street. Altering Dolly’s portrait was one of the last things Dowling did before returning to London with the intention of moving back to Australia permanently. He died suddenly in London in 1886.

Activities

• Find the photograph of Robert Dowling with his first painting of Dolly in the Resource pamphlet. List the objects the artist added to the second painting. Describe the sort of life you think Dolly might have lived.

• Draw a portrait of your grandparents as young adults, using photographs or family stories. Include a number of objects from their life to indicate who they were, how they lived and something of their personality.


Mrs Adolphus Sceales with Black Jimmie on Merrang Station 1856Merrang Station and Geelong, Victoriaoil on canvas mounted on plywood76 x 101.5 cmNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra

purchased from the Founding Donors Fund 1984

This painting is a memorial to Mr Adolphus Sceales, who died in 1854. He is represented in the painting by his riderless horse, held by his Aboriginal groom, Jimmie. Adolphus Sceales’s wife, Jane, wears riding clothing and a large black bow, indicating that she is in mourning for her dead husband. She stands with their dogs next to her own black horse, looking over the paddocks of their property, Merrang station.

The finely painted faces reveal Dowling’s background as a portrait painter. The horses’ harnesses and the two saddles—a man’s saddle on the brown horse, and a woman’s side-saddle on the black horse—are painted in detail, reminding us that Robert Dowling was an apprentice saddle-maker when he was a young man.

To the local Aborigines, ‘merrang’ meant ‘brown snake’. Many of the Aboriginal people, who were good working with horses and stock, lived and worked on properties which had been built on their traditional lands. The young Aboriginal groom known as Jimmie, seen in this painting, looked after the Merrang stables and cared for about 24 horses.

Activities

• List all the elements that convey a sense of mourning or sadness in Mrs Adolphus Sceales with Black Jimmie on Merrang Station. How could Dowling’s painting have assisted Mrs Adolphus Sceales mourn for her husband?

• What types of memorials are created today as reminders of lost or deceased loved ones? Design a memorial image for something you have loved or lost.


Self-portrait c 1852Launceston, Tasmania oil on ivory10.4 x 13.2 cmNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra

purchased 2009

Miniature portraits were made to be worn, carried about and sometimes displayed. They were often made into jewellery and lockets. Robert Dowling painted his portrait for a brooch that his wife Arabella wore. Larger miniatures, like the one reproduced here, were usually displayed in small cabinets. Miniatures were popular in Britain from the 16th- to the mid-19th century. Sometimes they were painted in watercolour, sometimes in oil on card or on fine animal skin called ‘vellum’. Ivory (from an elephant’s or walrus’s tusk) was also used.

Robert Dowling’s talent in painting miniatures is evident in the fine brushwork used to create his facial features in great detail. Dowling depicts himself in ‘three-quarter view’ or looking away from the viewer, as a fashionable young man wearing a green suit and bow tie. This pose could suggest Dowling painted his portrait from a photograph rather than by using a mirror. As photography became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century there was less demand for miniature painting.

Activities

• Read extracts of Robert Dowling’s obituary in the Resource pamphlet to understand how Robert Dowling was regarded at the time of his death. Read an obituary in your local paper. What kinds of people have short essays about their lives printed in the paper?

• Using Facebook profiles and family photographs, create miniature portraits on a variety of surfaces such as plastics, perspex, wood and fabric.


A sheikh and his son entering Cairo, on their return from a pilgrimage to Mecca 1874 London oil on canvas 139.3 x 244.5 cmNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

presented by a committee of gentlemen 1878

This painting is the most substantial example of Orientalism in Australian art. ‘Orientalism’ is a word used to describe the depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures by Europeans writers, designers and artists. Orientalist paintings were very popular during the 19th century. Robert Dowling visited Cairo and the Holy Land to gain information for his Oriental images. He had moved from Australia to London in 1857 to study and was very successful exhibiting his paintings there. This large painting was shown at the Royal Academy before being sent to Australia for exhibition in 1875.

The painting is a careful illustration of Egyptian street life. A large procession celebrates the return of a sheikh (an Arab leader) and his son, mounted on their horses, from a long religious journey to the city of Mecca. Elaborately decorated camels along with musicians and attendants and the sheikh’s family are surrounded by street stalls selling oranges, sugar cane and cotton fabrics. Robert Dowling’s sensitive use of colour highlights the rich textures of fabrics and fine detail of the buildings.

Activities• You are a reporter writing an article for the Melbourne Argus

newspaper in 1874. Imagine you have just witnessed the sheik and his son returning from their pilgrimage. How would you describe the sights, sounds and smells for Australian readers? Refer to the descriptions that accompanied Dowling’s painting in the Resource pamphlet.

• With the aid of a magnifying glass and a view finder select a detail of the mosque. Reproduce and enlarge the detail paying close attention to the palette (range of colours) that Robert Dowling used.


Weerat Kuyuut and the Mopor people,Spring Creek, Victoria 1856Minjah Station, Victoriaoil on canvas52 x 108.5 cmThe University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane

gift of Miss Marjorie Dowling 1952

This is a painting of the Gunditjmara or Mopor people of Spring Creek, in the Western District of Victoria. They are depicted around a campfire, and their ‘chief ’—Weerat Kuyuut, or ‘Eel Spear’—wears a feathered hat. His daughter, Yaruun Parrpurr Tarneen, sits to his right. Her husband, Wombeet Tuulawarn, stands behind her, and Jimmy of Blackman’s River sits to Weerat’s left.

This is the most mysterious and brooding of Robert Dowling’s paintings of Australian Aborigines. The landscape is lush and green, in contrast to the sombre atmosphere created by the grey sky. Some of the Aborigines’ faces are painted with white clay, a sign of mourning. The location of the painting is the Maramook swamp, which had been an important food source and a central meeting place for Aborigines. The European invasion of the area began in the 1830s, and by the 1850s the Mopor people had lost their lands, the swamp had been drained and their way of life had completely changed.

Activities

• James Dawson was a local pastoralist who, with his daughter Isabella, wrote a book in 1851, Australian Aborigines: the language and customs of several tribes of Aborigines of the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Yaruun Parrpurr Tarneen and Wombeet Tuulawarn provided information for the book. Read extracts online, through the National Library of Australia’s website, at nla.gov.au/nla.aus-nk9620

• Robert Dowling has carefully depicted many aspects of the traditional lives of the Mopor people. Along with the three long thin eel spears, list other details that Dowling has included. For more information on Weerat Kuyuut, read James Dawson’s description of him, written in 1881, in the Resource pamphlet.

art education and access · miss robertson of colac (dolly) 1885–86 colac and melbourne, victoria...

Documents