John Peter Russell (16 June 1858 – 30 April 1930) was an Australian

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter. Born and raised 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 ...

, Russell moved to Europe in his late teenage years to attend art school. There, he befriended fellow pupil

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

and, in 1886, painted the first oil portrait of the artist, now held at the

Van Gogh Museum The Van Gogh Museum () is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in the Museum Square in Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum opened o ...

. That same year, Russell painted with

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

Belle Île Belle-Île (), Belle-Île-en-Mer (), or Belle Isle (, ; ) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département in France, département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peninsula. Admini ...

. Russell moved there soon after with his wife, Marianna Russell, one of sculptor

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

's favourite models.

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

visited Russell at Belle Île in the 1890s, and later credited the Australian with introducing him to impressionist techniques and colour theory. Despite painting prolifically and maintaining close ties with the European avant-garde, Russell rarely exhibited his works and, having received a large inheritance from his father, showed no interest in making money from art. After his wife died in 1907, Russell, grief-stricken, destroyed hundreds of his paintings. He returned to Sydney in old age where he died in relative obscurity. His cousin, Australian artist Thea Proctor, did much to posthumously promote Russell's art, and by the late 20th-century, a number of biographies and exhibitions had helped to restore his reputation as a significant artist. Today his works are held in major galleries in his home country and in Europe, including the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

and the

Musée Rodin The Musée Rodin () of Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. While in Europe, Russell maintained correspondence with Australian impressionist painter

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 ...

, updating him on developments in French impressionism. Since he remained in Europe for much of his career and descended into obscurity after his death, Russell became known as Australia's "lost impressionist".

Life

Early years

Russell was born on 16 June 1858 in the

suburb of

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

, the eldest of four children to Scottish-born engineer John Russell and his wife Charlotte, ''née'' Nicholl, from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

.Galbally, Ann E.
"Russell, John Peter (1858–1930")
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography 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 ...

'', Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 483-484. Retrieved 25 November 2009 John Russell senior's engineering firm produced much of Sydney's colonial-era

ironwork Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil, or architectural feature made of iron, especially one used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork: wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000 BC, it was th ...

. Russell was also a nephew of Sir Peter Nicol Russell. Russell was educated at the Goulburn School in Garroorigang.

Training in Europe

Vincent van Gogh - s0273V1962 - Van Gogh Museum

At the age of eighteen, he went to England to take up an engineering

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

. In January 1881, following the death of his father, he used the considerable inheritance he received to enroll at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he studied under

Alphonse Legros Alphonse Legros (; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist. He moved to London in 1863 and later was naturalized as British. He was important as a teacher in the British etching ...

for three years. Russell then went to Paris to study painting under

Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (; 24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biog ...

. His fellow students there included

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Count, ''Comte'' Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colour ...

, Émile Bernard, and Dutchman

, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. The two artists particularly bonded over being foreigners in the Parisian

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

scene. They maintained correspondence, and some of Van Gogh's private letters reveal his deep fondness for Russell and his art. A portrait of Van Gogh by Russell, painted in 1886, was allegedly Van Gogh's favourite depiction of himself: the Dutch artist even wrote to his brother Theo, ten months before his death, exhorting him to "take good care of my portrait by Russell, which means a lot to me". The painting of Van Gogh was acquired by the Van Gogh Museum, at Amsterdam in 1938. A sheet of portrait drawings of van Gogh is at 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 ...

Belle Île

Russell married the renowned beauty Marianna Antonietta Mattiocco, an Italian seamstress and model of

's. They settled at

off the coast of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, where he designed his own home and established an artists' colony. Russell was the first non-native to move to the island, leading locals to call his home overlooking Port Goulphar "Le Chateau de l'Anglais". He would have 11 children with Mattiocco, of whom six, five sons and a daughter, survived.

often worked with Russell at Belle Île and influenced his style, though it has been said that Monet preferred some of Russell's Belle Île seascapes to his own. In 1890, Russell left Belle Île and traveled to

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

in a horse-drawn cart, where he rented a house for the winter and produced some of his most acclaimed work. Due to his substantial private income Russell did not attempt to make his pictures well known. In the 1880s and 1890s, Russell hewed closely to pure French impressionist style. Mrs

In 1907, Marianna Russell died in Paris of cancer. Grief-stricken, Russell took her body to Belle Île in a rowboat and buried her next to his home. He then destroyed an estimated 400 of his oils and watercolours. Auguste Rodin despaired at the destruction of "those marvels", and in one of his final letters to Russell, said, "Your works will live, I am certain. One day you will be placed on the same level with our friends Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh."

Later years

Russell married his second wife in 1912, the American singer Caroline de Witt Merrill, who was a friend of Russell's daughter and went by the stage name of Felize Medori. Russell and his new wife moved between

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where Russell's five sons served in the Allied forces 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 ...

. In 1922, Russell briefly lived in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

where he helped one of his sons start a citrus farm. In 1921, Russell returned to the Sydney area, where he lived in a fisherman's cottage in suburb of

Watsons Bay Watsons Bay is a harbourside, Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, ...

and had a small wooden studio on

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

. He suffered a fatal heart attack in 1930 while lifting rocks to build a wall outside his cottage.

Legacy

Russell's daughter, Madame Jeanne Jouve, known in Paris as a singer, stated that he had built up a collection of impressionist works—Van Gogh,

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

, Bernard, Guillaumin—which he intended to give to Australia, but none is known to have survived beyond his death."The Art of John Peter Russell" '' Women's Weekly''. 3 May 1967. p. 34 Sydney artist Thea Proctor, a cousin of Russell's, did much to promote his work in her later years. She died in 1966. Her cousin was Emmie Russell who was an orthoptist and she gained a large collection of paintings by Proctor and her uncle John Russell. She had a large collection of art that she donated to Australian galleries. He was also a lifelong friend of

, one of the main figures of the Australian

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 impressionism. Russell was not directly involved in this movement, giving him the title "Australia's Lost Impressionist". The first feature-length documentary about Russell, ''Australia’s Lost Impressionist: John Russell'', was released in 2018. Directed by Catherine Hunter and narrated by actor

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

, the film was partially shot at Belle-Ile. In 2023, Russell's 1897 painting ''Souvenir de Belle-Île'' sold at Deutscher and Hackett in Melbourne for A$3,927,273, making it the most expensive of his publicly auctioned works.

Style and works

Russell first became interested in impressionism in Paris, where he experimented with a variety of different techniques. In 1885, he made a trip to Cornwall and visited ''plein air'' colonies. In 1897 and 1898

visited Belle Île. Russell introduced him to impressionism and to the work of Van Gogh (who was relatively unknown at the time). Matisse's style changed radically, and he would later say "Russell was my teacher, and Russell explained colour theory to me."The Unknown Matisse...
ABC Radio National, 8 June 2005 Russell was particularly known for his skill as a colourist; during his stay on Belle Île he ground and mixed all his own

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

s. In the late 1880s, he met Monet who would later become a big name in the field. Russell referred to Monet as "the prince of Impressionists," while they painted. They were close friends and often saw each other. Russell later bought land on the island where the two met and lived there for the next twenty years. He visited places around his now home and was inspired by the clear light and bright colors. This led to Russell devoting himself to painting ''en plein air'' and showed his growth as an artist.

Gallery

File:John Peter Russell Peonies and head of a woman.jpg, ''Peonies and Head of a Woman'', 1887, National Gallery of Victoria File:John Peter Russell Dr Will Maloney.jpg, ''Dr Will Maloney'', 1887, National Gallery of Victoria File:John Russell, The garden, Longpré-les-Corps-Saints.jpg, ''The garden, Longpré-les-Corps-Saints'', 1887, private collection File:John Russell - A clearing in the forest - Google Art Project.jpg, ''A Clearing in the Forest'', 1891, Art Gallery of South Australia File:John Peter Russell In the Afternoon.jpg, ''In the Afternoon'', Art Gallery of New South Wales File:John Russell - In the morning, Alpes Maritimes from Antibes - Google Art Project.jpg, ''In the Morning, Alpes Maritimes from Antibes'', c. 1891 File:John Russell Antibes 1892.jpg, ''Antibes'', 1892, Queensland Art Gallery File:John Peter Russell - Belle Ile en mer, 1898.jpg, ''Belle Ile en mer'', 1898 File:John Peter Russell Rough Sea.jpg, ''Rough Sea, Belle-Île'', 1900, National Gallery of Victoria File:John Peter Russell - Boys on the Beach, Belle Ile.jpg, ''Boys on the Beach, Belle Ile'', c. 1900 File:John Peter Russell - La Pointe de Morestil par mer calme, 1901.jpg, ''La Pointe de Morestil, Calm Sea'', 1901

References

* * Salter, Elizabeth: ''The Lost Impressionist: A Biography of John Peter Russell'', Angus and Robertson, 1976. * Galbally, Ann: ''The Art of John Peter Russell'', Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977. * Onfray, Claude-Guy: ''Russell ou la lumière en héritage'', Lorisse-Le livre d'histoire, Paris, 1995. * Galbally, Ann: ''A Remarkable Friendship: Vincent van Gogh and John Peter Russell'', Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2008.

External links

John Russell
at the

John Peter Russell at Australian Art

''Australia's Lost Impressionist'' - trailer of a film by Catherine Hunter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, John Peter 1858 births 1930 deaths Artists from Sydney Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Australian Impressionist painters Australian male painters Artists from New South Wales Colony of New South Wales people