Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

painter and a leading member of the

Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has latterly been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and ...

, also known as

Australian Impressionism The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has latterly been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and ...

Early life

Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, south-west of

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

, on 8 April 1867 the fourth child of Charles Henry and Mary (née Johnson) Streeton. His family moved to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

in 1874. His parents had met on the voyage from England in 1854."Streeton, Sir Arthur Ernest (1867–1943),"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography Online'' In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the

National Gallery School The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was a private fine arts college founded in 1867 and was Australia's leading art school of 50 years. It is also referred to as the 'National Gallery ...

.Reid, John B. (1977). ''Australian Artists at War: Compiled from the Australian War Memorial Collection.'' Volume 1, p. 16. On 2 June 1890, he sailed to Sydney, and stayed there with his sister in the suburb of Summer Hill. Streeton was influenced by French

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

and the works of J.M.W. Turner. During this time he began his association with fellow artists Frederick McCubbin and

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe ...

– at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

including at Box Hill and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

. In 1885 Streeton presented his first exhibition at the Victorian Academy of Art. He found employment as an apprentice

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

under Charles Troedel.Galbally, Ann E. Galbally. (1990)
"Streeton, Sir Arthur Ernest (1867–1943),"
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

Career

Eaglemont camp, Heidelberg

In the summer drought of 1888, Streeton travelled by train to the attractive agricultural and grazing suburb of

, 11 km north-east of Melbourne's city centre. He intended to walk the remaining distance to the site where

Louis Buvelot Louis Buvelot ( Morges 3 March 1814 – Melbourne 30 May 1888), born Abram-Louis Buvelot, was a Swiss landscape painter who lived 17 years in Brazil and following 5 years back in Switzerland stayed 23 years in Australia, where he influenced the H ...

painted his 1866 work ''Summer afternoon near Templestowe'', which Streeton considered "the first fine landscape painted in Victoria".Streeton, Arthur (16 October 1934)
"Eaglemont in the Eighties: Beginnings of Art in Australia"
'' The Argus''. On the return journey to Heidelberg, wet canvas in hand, Streeton met Charles Davies, brother-in-law of friend and fellow ''plein air'' painter David Davies. Charles gave him "artistic possession" of an abandoned homestead atop the summit of Mount Eagle estate, offering spectacular views across the

Yarra Valley The Yarra Valley is the region surrounding the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The river originates approximately east of the Melbourne central business district and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Vall ...

to the

Dandenongs The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weather ...

. For Streeton,

Eaglemont Eaglemont is an established suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Eaglemont recorded a population of 3,960 at the 20 ...

(as it became known) was the ideal working environment—a reasonably isolated rural location accessible by public transport. The house itself could be seen by visitors as they arrived at

Heidelberg railway station Heidelberg railway station is located on the Hurstbridge line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg, and opened on 8 May 1888. History Heidelberg station opened on 8 May 1888, at a time when it ...

. Streeton spent the first few nights at Eaglemont alone with the estate's tenant farmer Jack Whelan (who appears in Streeton's "pioneer" painting ''The selector's hut (Whelan on the log)'', 1890), and slept upon the floor, the rooms being bare of furniture. Of his first few nights at the house, Streeton said it was "creaking and ghostly. A long dark corridor seemed full of past visions, and out of doors a blurred rich blackness against the sharp brilliance of the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

... But tobacco and wine weighed healthily against the darkness". He descended the hill daily to Heidelberg village for meals before jaunting into the bush with a

billycan A billycan is an Australian term for a lightweight cooking pot in the form of a metal bucketFarrell, Michael. "Death Watch: Reading the Common Object of the Billycan in 'Waltzing Matilda. ''Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian ...

of milk and

swag Swag, SWAG, or Swagg may refer to: Terms and slang * Swag (motif) or festoon, a wreath or garland or a carving depicting foliage and ribbons ** Swag, fabric dressing for a window valance * Swag, stolen goods, in 1800s thieves cant * Swag (pro ...

of paints and canvases. The first artists to paint with Streeton at Eaglemont were the National Gallery students Aby Altson and

John Llewellyn Jones John Llewellyn Jones (1866 – 13 December 1927), often referred to as Llewellyn or J. Llewellyn Jones, was an Australian artist and photographer who was associated with the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. ...

, followed by John Mather and

Walter Withers Walter Herbert Withers (22 October 1854 – 13 October 1914) was an English-born Australian landscape artist and a member of the Heidelberg School of Australian impressionists. Biography Withers was born at Handsworth, Staffordshire, the son ...

. Like Streeton, Withers painted from nature amidst suburban bush around Melbourne, employing earthy colours with loose, impressionistic brushstrokes. By the end of 1888, he became a weekend visitor to the camp. Streeton was exhibiting and perhaps painting in the studio of his friend Tom Roberts in the

Grosvenor Chambers Grosvenor Chambers, at number 9 Collins Street, Melbourne, contained the first custom-built complex of artists' studios in Australia. The construction costs were almost £6,000 and the building opened in April 1888. The owner was Charles Stewar ...

in Collins Street by May 1888. About the same time, Streeton met the artist

Charles Conder Charles Edward Conder (24 October 1868 – 9 February 1909) was an English-born painter, lithographer and designer. He emigrated to Australia and was a key figure in the Heidelberg School, arguably the beginning of a distinctively Australi ...

, who travelled down from Sydney in October 1888 at the invitation of

. One year Streeton's junior, Conder was already a committed ''plein airist'', having been influenced by the painterly techniques of expatriate impressionist

Girolamo Nerli Girolamo Pieri Pecci Ballati Nerli (21 February 1860 – 24 June 1926), was an Italian painter who worked and travelled in Australia and New Zealand in the late 19th century influencing Charles Conder and Frances Hodgkins and helping to mo ...

. Conder and Roberts joined Streeton at Eaglemont in January 1889 and helped make some modest improvements to the house. Despite austere living conditions, Streeton felt content: "Surrounded by the loveliness of the new landscape, with heat, drought, and flies, and hard pressed for the necessaries of life, we worked hard, and were a happy trio." Streeton and Conder quickly became friends and influenced one another's art. Their shared love of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

n poet

Adam Lindsay Gordon Adam Lindsay Gordon (19 October 1833 – 24 June 1870) was a British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He was the first Australian poet to gain considerable recognition overseas, and according to his contemporary, write ...

's lyrical verse is revealed in the titles of some of their Eaglemont paintings, including Streeton's romantic

gloaming Gloaming may refer to: * Twilight, the period after sunset and before the darkness of night * The Gloaming, an Irish traditional music group ** ''The Gloaming'' (album), their first album * Gloaming (horse) (1915–1932), a Thoroughbred racehorse ...

work ''′Above us the great grave sky′'' (1890, taken from Gordon's poem "Doubtful Dreams"). Later, critics would describe some of the pair's Eaglemont paintings as companion pieces, as both artists often painted the same views and subjects using a high-keyed "gold and blue" palette, which Streeton considered "nature's scheme of colour in Australia". Two of Streeton's best-known works were painted during this period—''

Golden Summer, Eaglemont ''Golden Summer, Eaglemont'' is an 1889 landscape painting by Australian artist Arthur Streeton. Painted ''en plein air'' at the height of a summer drought, it is an idyllic depiction of sunlit, undulating plains that stretch from Streeton's Eag ...

'' (1889) and ''′Still glides the stream, and shall for ever glide′'' (1890)—each a sunlit pastoral scene of golden-paddocked plains stretching to the distant blue Corhanwarrabul. In 1891, Arthur Merric and Emma Minnie of the Boyd artistic dynasty took ''Golden Summer, Eaglemont'' to Europe where it became the first painting by an Australian-born artist to be exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, London, and was awarded a ''Mention honourable'' at the 1892

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial ar ...

Sydney

Arthur Streeton - Cremorne pastoral - Google Art Project

Streeton came to Sydney and lived at

Curlew Camp Curlew Camp was an artists' camp established in the late 19th century on the eastern shore of Little Sirius Cove, now part of Mosman Bay in Sydney. It was home for some years to several leading Australian artists, such as Arthur Streeton and To ...

, from around 1891 until he left Australia for England, although during this period he also travelled widely in rural New South Wales. As well as painting scenes of Sydney Harbour and Coogee, and urban scenes of Sydney, it was during this period that he painted his ''

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

'' series of paintings and '''Fire's on. In 1893 Streeton wrote in Sydney's ''Daily Telegraph'' criticizing a proposed development on the shores of Sydney Harbor to establish a colliery which would involve the cutting down of a great many gum trees by a mining company. His letter, which came to be known as "Streeton's shriek" resulted in public alarm and a cessation of the project.

Travels to England

In 1897 Streeton sailed for London on the ''Polynesian'', stopping at

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

before continuing on via Cairo and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

. He held an exhibition at the

in 1900 and became a member of the

Chelsea Arts Club The Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club at 143 Old Church Street in Chelsea, London with a membership of over 3,800, including artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. The club ...

in 1903. Although he had developed a considerable reputation in Australia, he failed to achieve the same success in England. His trips to London were financed by the sales of his paintings at home in Australia. His time in England reinforced a strong sense of patriotism towards the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and, like many, anticipated the coming war with Germany with some enthusiasm. In 1906, Streeton returned to Australia and completed some paintings at

Mount Macedon Mount Macedon ( Aboriginal Woiwurrung language: ''Geboor'' or ''Geburrh'') is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The mountain has ...

in February 1907 while staying with his patrons the Pinschofs at Hohe Warte.These included the notable five feet by three feet Australia Felix (a view from Mt. Toorong) and a number of other smaller paintings. He returned to London in October. Paintings done in Venice in September 1908, including '' The Grand Canal'', were exhibited in Australia in July 1909 as "Arthur Streeton's Venice". In Australia again in April 1914 he held exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne and went back to England in early 1915.

War artist

Arthur Streeton portrait (George Lambert)

Along with other members of the

, including

, he joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

(

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

) at the age of 48. He worked at the 3rd London General Hospital in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

and reached the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

Streeton was made an Australian Official War Artist with the Australian Imperial Force, holding the rank of Honorary Lieutenant, and he travelled to France on 14 May 1918 and was attached to the 2nd Division, receiving his movement order on 8 May 1918. He worked in France, with a break in August, until October 1918. Expected by the Commonwealth to produce sketches and drawings that were "descriptive", Streeton concentrated on the landscape of the scenes of war and did not attempt to convey the human suffering. Unlike the more famous

military art Military art is art with a military subject matter, regardless of its style or medium. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories and intimidate po ...

depicting the definitive moments of battle, Streeton produced "military still life", capturing the everyday moments of the war. Streeton explained what was at that time an unconventional point of view – a perspective which was based in experience: Two paintings from this period, ''Villers Bretonneux'' (1918) and ''Boulogne'' (1918), are in the collection of the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

Later years

After the war, Streeton resumed painting in the Grampians and

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathe ...

. Streeton built a house on five acres (20,000 m²) at

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state capital. It has a population of 393,115 people, covers ...

in the Dandenongs where he continued to paint. He won the Wynne Prize in 1928 with ''Afternoon Light, Goulburn Valley''. He was an art critic for '' The Argus'' from 1929 to 1935 and in 1937 was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

ed for services to the arts. He married Esther Leonora Clench, a Canadian violinist, in 1908. Streeton died in September 1943. He is buried at

Ferntree Gully Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Ferntree Gully re ...

cemetery.

Legacy

Streeton Drive, a main thoroughfare in Weston Creek is named after Sir Arthur, as is Streeton Primary School, in the Melbourne suburb of Yallambie. There is also a memorial for Streeton just outside Geelong, Victoria. In 2008, three expatriate Australian classical musicians living in Geneva, Switzerland founded a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of m ...

they named the Streeton Trio after the painter. Streeton's works appear in many major Australian galleries and museums, including the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

and state galleries, and the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

. In September 2015, Streeton's Coogee clifftop landscape '' Blue Pacific'' (1890) became the first painting by an Australian artist, and only the second painting by a Western artist outside Europe, to hang in the permanent collection of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, London. It sits alongside major impressionist works by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

and

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bor ...

Prices

Streeton's paintings are amongst the most collectible of Australian artists and attracted high prices during his lifetime. ''Golden Summer, Eaglemont'' sold for around 1000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

in 1924 and in 1995 it was bought in a private sale by the

for A$3.5 million, both times setting a sales record for an Australian painting. In 1985, ''Settler's Camp'' sold at auction for A$800,000 and this remained the record auction price for Streeton's work until 23 May 2005, when his 1890 painting, ''Sunlight Sweet, Coogee'', was sold for A$2.04 million (A$1.853 million before tax), becoming only the second painting by an Australian artist to exceed the A$2 million mark at auction (after Frederick McCubbin's 1892 work ''Bush Idyll'', which sold for A$2.3 million in 1998). The painting was part of the

Foster's Group Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, ...

collection and was sold at auction by

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

. That record was eclipsed when, on 21 April 2021, Streeton's ''The Grand Canal, 1908'' was auctioned in

for A$3.068 million.

Gallery

Arthur Streeton - At Templestowe - Google Art Project.jpg, ''At Templestowe'', 1889, Art Gallery of South Australia File:Sunlight Sweet Coogee Arthur Streeton.jpg, ''Sunlight Sweet, Coogee'', 1890, private collection File:Arthur Streeton - Fire's on - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Fire's on'', 1891, Art Gallery of New South Wales File:Arthur Streeton Redfern railway station.jpg, ''The Railway Station, Redfern'', 1893, Art Gallery of New South Wales File:Arthur Streeton Point Wharf 1893.jpg, ''The Point Wharf, Mosman Bay'', 1893, National Gallery of Australia File:Arthur Streeton Ariadne 1895.jpg, ''Ariadne'', 1895, National Gallery of Australia File:Arthur Streeton - The spirit of the drought - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Spirit of the Drought'', 1895, National Gallery of Australia File:Arthur Streeton Purple 1896.jpg, ''‘ The purple noon's transparent might’'', 1896, National Gallery of Victoria File:The Path to Podge Newton's.jpg, ''The Path to Podge Newton's'', 1895, private collection File:Streeton From My Camp 1896.jpg, ''From My Camp'', 1896, Art Gallery of New South Wales File:His first snake - Australasian Sketcher 24 January 1889 (12599852994).jpg, "His first snake", 1889, Australasian Sketcher

References

External links

Artist's footsteps – Arthur StreetonArthur Streeton
at the

Arthur Streeton at Australian ArtArthur Streeton on Picture Australia Dictionary of Australian Art, Arthur Streeton
;Images
The domes of St. Mark's (1908)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Streeton, Arthur 1867 births 1943 deaths 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Australian Knights Bachelor Australian landscape painters Australian people of English descent Australian war artists Heidelberg School Members of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Orientalist painters People from Geelong World War I artists Wynne Prize winners British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army officers Australian male painters People from Richmond, Victoria National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni Military personnel from Victoria (Australia)