Charles Douglas Richardson
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Charles Douglas Richardson (7 or 9 July 1853 – 15 October 1932), often referred to as C. Douglas Richardson, was an English-born Australian sculptor and painter. In the 1880s, he was an associate of the
Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and Walter ...
of impressionists, and contributed works to the landmark
9 by 5 Impression Exhibition The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition was an art exhibition held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It opened on 17 August 1889 at Buxton's Rooms on Swanston Street and featured 183 "impressions", the majority of which were painted by Charles Conder, ...
of 1889.


History

Richardson was born in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
, London, second son of artist John Richardson (1853–1932) and his wife Mary Frances, née Holmes. In 1858 the family left aboard the ship ''Swiftsure'' for Victoria, Australia, where the eldest son Rev. Thomas Elliott Richardson (1814–1869) was a Presbyterian minister and editor of the ''
Portland Guardian ''The Portland Guardian'' was a weekly newspaper published between 1842 and 1964 in the seaport town of Portland, Victoria, Australia. It was known as the ''Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser'' from 1842 to 1876. It was founded by ...
'' from 1854 (or earlier) to 1863.


Training

He was educated at Scotch College, where his interest in sketching was encouraged, then trained at the Artisans' School of Design, Trades Hall,
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 ...
and later 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 S ...
, Melbourne. In 1881 he left for London, studying 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 ...
schools for six years, for a time sharing studios with fellow students from Melbourne,
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 i ...
and
Bertram Mackennal Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (12 June 1863 – 10 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor and medallist, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V. He signed his work ...
. He returned to Melbourne in 1889, working in various media as well as
oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturat ...
and
watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...
. Richardson was regarded as one of the most important artists of his generation in Melbourne during the late 1880s and the 1890s. He was discussed by critics as the equal of such artists as Tom Roberts,
Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mount Moriac, Victoria ...
and
Frederick McCubbin Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...
. Richardson's works were read as synonymous with the new nationalist school of ''
plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...
'' painters. At c. 1890, Richardson was a close associate of these artists, both personally and professionally. He showed both sculpted and painted "impressions" at the famed
9 by 5 Impression Exhibition The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition was an art exhibition held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It opened on 17 August 1889 at Buxton's Rooms on Swanston Street and featured 183 "impressions", the majority of which were painted by Charles Conder, ...
, Melbourne August 1889, regarded as one of Australia's first modernist group shows with a manifesto. In 1880 he was a ringleader alongside Tom Roberts of
student protests Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academi ...
at the National Gallery school. He was a co-founder in 1898 of the Yarra Sculptors' Society, along with Margaret Baskerville and Web Gilbert.


Presidency of Victorian Artists' Society

Richardson joined the
Victorian Artists' Society The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and Art museum, gallery hire art gallery, exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Acad ...
soon after his return to Australia in 1889. In 1918 he was elected president of the Society, following dissatisfaction with his predecessor
Max Meldrum Duncan Max Meldrum (3 December 1875 – 6 June 1955) was a Scottish-born Australian artist and art teacher, best known as the founder of Australian tonalism, a representational painting style that became popular in Melbourne during the interwa ...
and his very vocal core of supporters. He retained the position until succeeded by
John Longstaff Sir John Campbell Longstaff (10 March 1861 – 1 October 1941) was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Longstaff was one of the most prolific portraitists of the Edwardian period, pain ...
in 1925, and was elected again a year later, to be replaced by
Paul Montford __NOTOC__ Paul Raphael Montford (1 November 1868 – 15 January 1938) was an English-born sculptor, also active in Australia; winner of the gold medal of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1934.Jenny Zimmer,Montford, Paul Raphael (1868– ...
in 1931. Although one of the longest serving presidents, Richardson is little remembered by that group. Richardson's reputation has diminished amongst subsequent curators, critics and historians, partly because relatively few of the significant and highly regarded works that he was known to have produced came on the market, partly because his interest in symbolism and the British
New Sculpture New Sculpture was a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture with an emphasis on naturalistic poses and spiritual subjects. The movement was characterised by the production of free-standing statues and statuettes of 'ideal' figures from poe ...
movement did not speak to the social realist values that were read into the ''plein air'' group by many later commentators. He is now read as a curious adjunct to the ''plein air'' school of painters known as the
Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and Walter ...
rather than the core figure that he once was.


Marriage

In 1914 he married the sculptor Margaret Baskerville, one of the most influential Australian women artists prior to
Margaret Preston Margaret Rose Preston (29 April 1875 – 28 May 1963) was an Australian painter, printmaker and writer on art who is regarded as one of Australia's leading modernists of the early 20th century. In her quest to foster an Australian "national ...
. Baskerville received many commissions but her work lacked the lyrical and poetic qualities of the best of Richardson's works. A recent bronze casting of his female figure, ''The Cloud'', was set into a formal water garden beside the former Brighton Town Hall (Victoria, Australia) in the 1980s.


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Douglas 20th-century Australian sculptors 1853 births 1932 deaths 19th-century Australian sculptors National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni Artists from Melbourne English emigrants to colonial Australia Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Artists from Victoria (state) British emigrants to the Colony of Victoria