Louis Frederick McCubbin (18 March 1890 – 6 December 1952), only ever known as "Louis McCubbin", was an Australian war artist, landscape painter and art gallery director.

History

McCubbin was born in

Auburn, Victoria Auburn is an unbounded neighbourhood of the suburb of Hawthorn, Victoria, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia, in the States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The area is renowned for its commercial Victorian arch ...

, the eldest son of Annie 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 ...

, who named him Louis as a tribute to his friend and patron Louis Abrahams. He was educated privately and studied 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 ...

1906–1911. He enlisted for service in the

AIF AIF, A.I.F., AiF or aif may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Argumenty i Fakty'' (AiF), a Russian newspaper * Australians in Film (AiF), a Los Angeles-based organisation for the promotion of Australian actors and filmmakers * Aspen Ideas ...

in May 1916, and in May 1918, while a private serving in France, was attached to the War Records Section as an AIF war artist and promoted to lieutenant. He was appointed lieutenant, 3rd Military District, in 1920. He painted backgrounds for the battle scene

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

s (some dioramas had figures sculpted by C. Web Gilbert, others by W. Leslie Bowles) for 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 ...

, Canberra, a task that took nine years to complete. In the 1930s he shared, with Will Rowell, a roomy studio in

Grosvenor Chambers Grosvenor Chambers, at number 9 Collins Street, Melbourne, contained the first custom-built complex of artists' studios in Australia. Initiation The owner was Edinburgh-born Charles Stewart Paterson (1843-1917) who with W. Davidson, and al ...

on Collins Street, a building with a long history of artist tenants. He made a series of paintings depicting the Great Barrier Reef for the Australian National Travel Association. He taught drawing at

Swinburne Technical College The Swinburne University of Technology (or simply Swinburne) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the Eastern Suburbs Technical College established in 1908, renamed Swinburne Technical College ...

in 1935, then in 1936 was appointed director of the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

in Adelaide, and became a member of the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, along with directors of the Melbourne and Sydney galleries, plus G. V. F. Mann,

Will Ashton Sir John William Ashton, OBE, ROI (20 September 1881 – 1 September 1963) was a prolific Australian Impressionist artist and director of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1937 to 1943. Early life Ashton was born in Clifton, ...

and Harold Herbert. He served during World War II as deputy director of camouflage for South Australia. He resigned the Adelaide post in 1950 due to poor health. His influence on that gallery was recognised as highly beneficial. His last years were spent at the home of a relative, Hugh McCubbin, of Punt Road,

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...

. He died at the

Royal Melbourne Hospital The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), located in Parkville, Victoria, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is one of Australia's leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research. Th ...

and his remains cremated at the Spring Vale Crematorium.

Personal

McCubbin married Stella Elsie Mary Jackson (died 1939), née Abraham, widow of Eric Speers Jackson, on 27 April 1936. They had no children. McCubbin was uncle to Charles McCubbin (born 1930), painter and naturalist, who crossed the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The Wangka ...

with

Warren Bonython Charles Warren Bonython, AO (11 September 1916 – 2 April 2012) was an Australian conservationist, explorer, author, and chemical engineer. A keen bushwalker, he is perhaps best known for his role, spanning many years, of working towards ...

in July–August 1973, and was author of ''Butterflies of Australia'', pub. 1971.

Memberships and recognition

*He won the 1917 A.N.A. Landscape prize for his "The Hanover Mire". *Member Art Committee of the Australian War Memorial *President of Victorian Art Society 1933–1935 *Member of the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board *He was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the New Year's Honours list of 1947. Examples of his work are held by all State and many Regional galleries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCubbin, Louis 1890 births 1952 deaths Australian war artists Australian landscape painters Australian art gallery directors Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire