Louis Abrahams (1852 – 2 December 1903) was a British-born Australian

tobacconist A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retail business that sells tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampe ...

, art patron, painter and etcher associated with 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 ...

art movement, also known as Australian Impressionism.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

, England, Abrahams arrived 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 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia, as an eight-year-old with his family in 1860.

Career and association with the Heidelberg School

Later that decade, Abrahams attended the Artisans School of Design in Carlton, where he met

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 ...

. The pair formed a close friendship and later enrolled at the

National Gallery of Victoria Art 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 ...

in 1871, where they founded a club to study the nude. McCubbin named his first son

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

after Abrahams, who reciprocated by naming his son Frederick. Both artists, along with fellow National Gallery student

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 ...

, established the Box Hill artists' camp in 1885. Later accompanied by

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 ...

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 ...

and others, the group sought to capture the Australian bush by painting it ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French language, 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 ai ...

''. By the time the group relocated to Mount Eagle estate (Eaglemont) near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

in 1888, Abrahams had less time for art due to the demands of the family cigar business, Sniders & Abrahams. He still made trips to visit his friends at Eaglemont, and supplied them with many cigar-box lids for painting ''impressions''. 183 of these cigar-box paintings were exhibited by Roberts, Streeton, Conder and McCubbin in 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. Abrahams sat for some of McCubbin's best-known paintings, including '' Down on His Luck'' (1889) and ''A Bush Burial'' (1890), and he is the subject of portraits by McCubbin, Roberts, Streeton,

Julian Ashton Julian Rossi Ashton (27 January 185127 April 1942) was an English-born Australian artist and teacher. He is best known for founding the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and encouraging Australian painters to capture local life and scenery ' ...

, John Mather and others. Due to his financial support of the Australian impressionists, Abrahams, along with his brother and business partner Lawrence, is regarded as an important patron of early Australian art.

Death and legacy

Abrahams suffered from depression and committed suicide on 2 December 1903. His body was found in a basement toilet at his factory, "with a bullet wound in the head and a revolver clenched in both hands". Abrahams' personal art collection was passed down to his grandson, architect Sir Denys Lasdun, best-known for designing the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

complex on London's

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

."One of the greatest early patrons of Australian art"
(12 December 2017), Christie's. Retrieved 31 July 2018. Abrahams Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Conder is named in his honour. Abrahams's nephew was Louis Henry Abrahams (1891 – 1940), son of Abrahams's brother Lawrence, and a founder of Astor Radio.

Gallery

File:Tom Roberts - The artists' camp, 1886.jpg, Roberts' 1886 painting ''The Artists' Camp'' shows Abrahams and McCubbin File:Down on his luck.jpg, Abrahams sat as the disheartened

swagman A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who traveled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag. The term originated in Australia in the 19th century and was later used in New Zealan ...

for McCubbin's 1889 painting '' Down on His Luck''

References

External links

Louis Abrahams
at the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, Louis 1852 births 1903 suicides British emigrants to the Colony of Victoria 19th-century Australian businesspeople Heidelberg School Australian Jews Australian tobacconists 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Suicides by firearm in Victoria (state) 1903 deaths Australian male painters Artists from Melbourne Artists from Victoria (state)