George Washington Thomas Lambert (13 September 1873 – 29 May 1930) was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait painting and as a

war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life

Lambert was born in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia, the

posthumous son A posthumous birth is the birth of a child after the death of a parent. A person born in these circumstances is called a posthumous child or a posthumously born person. Most instances of posthumous birth involve the birth of a child after the dea ...

of George Washington Lambert (1833 – 25 July 1873, in London) of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The younger Lambert's mother was Annie Matilda, ''née'' Firth, an Englishwoman. Mother and son soon moved to Württemberg, Germany, to be with Lambert's maternal grandfather. Lambert was educated at Kingston College, Yeovil, Somerset. The family, consisting of Lambert, his mother and three sisters, decided to emigrate to Australia. They arrived in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

aboard the ''Bengal'' on 20 January 1887.

Career

George Washington Lambert - Self-portrait

Lambert began exhibiting his pictures at the Art Society and the Society of Artists, Sydney in 1894. Lambert began contributing pen-and-ink cartoons for '' The Bulletin'' in 1895 and began painting full-time in 1896. Illustrations by Lambert formed part of the bush ballads of the ''Fair girls and gray horses'' (1898) and ''Hearts of gold'' (1903) anthologies of Scottish-Australian poet Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963). In 1899 he won the

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

with '' Across the Blacksoil Plains''. He studied at the

Julian Ashton Art School The Julian Ashton Art School was established by Julian Ashton in 1890 as the "Academy Julian", (perhaps a reference to the Académie Julian in Paris) has been an influential art school in Australia. For a long time it was known as the Sydney Art ...

in Sydney until 1900. Later, he won a travelling scholarship for 150 pounds from the

government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

. He spent a year in Paris before moving to London where he exhibited at the

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

. Lambert was awarded a silver medal at an international exhibition for his painting ''The Sonnet'' in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in 1911. He was most known during this time as a portrait artist.

War artist

Lambert became an official Australian war artist in 1917 during the First World War. His painting ''

Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

, the landing 1915'' of the landings on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, is the largest painting at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

collection. Lambert, as an honorary captain, travelled to Gallipoli in 1919 to make sketches for the painting. Another noted work was '' A sergeant of the Light Horse'' (1920), painted in London after his travels in Palestine. During the war years, George Lambert spent much time in London, where it is suggested he was romantically involved with fellow artist

Thea Proctor Alethea Mary Proctor (2 October 1879 – 29 July 1966) was an Australian painter, print maker, designer and teacher who upheld the ideas of 'taste' and 'style'. Biography Proctor was born in Armidale, New South Wales, to William Consett Pr ...

Return to Australia

Lambert returned to Australia in 1921, where he had success in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

with a one-man show at

Fine Art Society The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society ...

gallery. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1922. He often visited the homestead of Colonel

Granville Ryrie Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie, (1 July 1865 – 2 October 1937) was an Australian soldier, politician, and diplomat. He served in the Second Boer War, Boer War and the First World War, in the latter comma ...

of the

Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I, World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of A ...

Michelago, New South Wales Michelago is a village in the Monaro region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council local government area, south of Canberra on the Monaro Highway. It was founded in the 1820s, on the main route from ...

and there painted '' The Squatter's Daughter'' and ''Michelago Landscape''. In the second annual

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

in 1922, now Australia's most prestigious art prize for portraiture, Lambert's work was disqualified as he had not been a resident in Australia for twelve months. He submitted a self-portrait for the third year, competing with William Macleod who entered with the subject of '' The Bulletin'' cartoonist 'Hop' Hopkins. In 1927 he won the

with '' Mrs Annie Murdoch'', a portrait of the mother of

Keith Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist and media proprietor who was the founder of the Murdoch media empire. He amassed significant media holdings in Australia which after his death were expan ...

and grandmother of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

. In November 1927 he was commissioned to create a statue of writer

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period ...

; the work depicting Lawson in rough clothes accompanied by a swagman, a dog and a fence post was unveiled in

The Domain, Sydney The Domain is a heritage-listed area of open space on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, Australia. Separating the central business district from Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Woolloomooloo, The Domain adjoins the Ro ...

on 28 July 1931 by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

, Sir

Philip Game Sir Philip Woolcott Game (30 March 1876 – 4 February 1961) was a Royal Air Force commander, who later served as Governor of New South Wales and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (London). Born in Surrey in 1876, Game was educated at Cha ...

Personal life

Lambert married Amelia Beatrice 'Amy' Absell (1872–1963) in 1900. Their children were

Maurice Lambert Maurice Prosper Lambert RA (25 June 1901 – 17 August 1964) was a British sculptor. He was the son of the artist George Washington Lambert and the older brother of the composer and author Constant Lambert. Lambert is mostly known for his publi ...

(1901–1964), a noted sculptor and associate of the Royal Academy, and Constant, the British composer and conductor, born in London in 1905.

Kit Lambert Christopher Sebastian "Kit" Lambert (11 May 1935 – 7 April 1981) was an English record producer, record label owner and the manager of the Who. Biography Early life Kit Lambert was born on 11 May 1935, the son of composer Constant Lamb ...

(1935–1981), manager of the rock group

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, was their grandchild. Lambert died on 29 May 1930 at

Cobbitty Cobbitty is a semi-rural town of the Macarthur Region near the town of Camden, southwest of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area is mostly farmland with a population of just over 4,000. Overview The area is mostly f ...

, near Camden, New South Wales, and is buried in the Anglican section of

South Head Cemetery The South Head General Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery located at 793 Old South Head Road, Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1845 to 1950. It is also known as Old South Head Cemetery and the South Head Cemetery. The ...

. Some of his family papers from 1874 to 1942 are held in the State Library of New South Wales, Sydney. His life was dramatised in an episode of the radio series ''

Famous Australians ''Famous Australians'' is a 1939 Australian radio anthology series that tells stories of famous Australians. It started on 15 January and aired on 2GB for the Macquarie Network. It went for 45 episodes. Select episodes *William Farrer (5 March 1 ...

''.

List of works

Gallery

File:The artist’s wife, Amy, and their son Constant - George Washington Lambert - ref Lambert-98142.jpg, ''The artist's wife, Amy, and their son Constant''

Notes

References

External links

*
Artist profile - Australian War Memorial

Lambert exhibition, Gallipoli and Palestine landscapes - Australian War Memorial

George Washington Lambert at Australian Art
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, George Washington 1873 births 1930 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Australia Australian war artists World War I artists Archibald Prize winners Archibald Prize finalists Australian portrait painters

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Russian portrait painters British war artists Wynne Prize winners 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Symbolist painters Associates of the Royal Academy Julian Ashton Art School alumni Australian male painters Australian people of German descent Australian people of American descent