Max Meldrum (actor)
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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 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 ...
during the interwar period. He also won fame for his portrait work, winning the prestigious
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 ...
for portraiture in 1939 and 1940.


Early life

Max Meldrum was born in 1875 in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. His father, Edward Meldrum, was an analytical chemist and his mother, Christina Meldrum (''née'' Macglashan), a schoolteacher. Products of the
Scottish enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment (, ) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Sco ...
, both parents fervently embraced scientific progress and empiricism. His mother was said to be particularly zealous in her beliefs in scientific progress, having “inverted Calvinism into an equally fierce agnosticism… ereyes would gleam with holy fire while she would orate upon her favorite scheme of filling the churches with scientific instruments and the cathedrals with mighty telescopes.” Edward, who was friends with many of the city’s painters, introduced Max to art from an early age - he and his father spent many a day touring the city’s well-regarded art galleries when Max was a young boy. In 1889, the family – Edward, Christina, Max, and Max’s two brothers – emigrated to Australia. His sister Elizabeth was born soon after their arrival in Melbourne. Once there, Max decided the academic life was not for him and quit formal schooling. Initially taking up a clerkship at a wool store, in 1892 he enrolled in the School of Design at the Melbourne National Gallery Art School.


Learning the painting trade

Max entered the National Gallery Art School in 1892, the very same year that
Lindsay Bernard Hall Lindsay Bernard Hall (28 December 1859 – 14 February 1935) was an English-born Australian artist, teacher and art gallery director. Early life and career Hall was born at Garston, Liverpool, England, the son of a broker of the same famil ...
, a staunchly conservative English-born artist and teacher, began his long tenure as the school’s director. Bernand Hall took a classical approach to teaching; before a student could even pick up a brush they had to first master charcoal drawing to a level that their work could be included in the school's annual exhibition. He believed painting should “proceed from breadth to detail, from general to particular truths, but always to see them in their order of importance; that is, to draw.” In addition to classes at the National Gallery, Meldrum also studied under George Coates. Coates' classes, held at the North Melbourne Trades Hall, became a gathering point for Melbourne’s bohemian scene and were attended by artists such as Lional and Percy Lindsey, as well as George Bell. To help with his tuition and expenses, Max also produced illustrations for ''Champion'', a short-lived local paper launched by journalist, publisher, and socialist
Henry Hyde Champion Henry Hyde Champion (22 January 1859 – 30 April 1928) was a socialist journalist and activist, regarded as a leading figure in the early political organisations of the British labour movement. From a middle-class background, he was an early ...
.


The National Gallery Travelling Scholarship

Beginning in 1887, the National Gallery held a painting competition, the winner of which was awarded the prestigious National Gallery Travelling Scholarship. Students at the school were invited to submit a work based on a common subject which were judged by Melbourne’s art establishment. The winner was awarded the tidy sum £150 per annum for three years to continue honing their skills abroad. In 1899, Bernard Hall chose “Welcome News” as the subject of the season’s competition. Eight works were submitted, from artists including Hugh Ramsey, Norman MacGeorge, and Elsie Hake (Barlow). Meldrum’s submission emerged victorious, with Ramsey’s piece coming second, amid some controversy. Upon winning, Meldrum is said to have slashed his entry to pieces, exclaiming he “would never again put an insincere brush to canvas.” Max chose
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 ...
as his destination for the travelling scholarship.


Paris

Meldrum set off for France in April 1900, arriving first in London before quickly making his way to Paris. The terms of his scholarship required him to produce three paintings over the three-year period: a nude study, a copy of an old master, and an original work. Upon arriving in Paris, he took up residence at 7 Rue Delambre in Montpernasse, an area popular with émigré artists at the time. His apartment was a short walk from the
Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...
, where he began studying under L. J. R. Collin and Gustave Courtois, late proponents of the French Academic style. By March 1901, Meldrum was also taking additional classes at
Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...
under
Jean-Paul Laurens Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a romanticism French painter and sculptor, and he is one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style. Biography Laurens was born in Fourquevaux and was a pupil of Léon ...
, an anti-clerical republican who also taught the Academic style. Despite his dedication to study – classes occupied both his days and his nights – Meldrum quickly became disillusioned with the quality of the training. In a letter to a friend dated June 1900, he compares the painting instruction he received in Melbourne favorably to that in Paris and hints at pursuing a more self-directed approach to his study. By mid-1901, he was living with his uncle in Edinburgh where he continued work on his study of the nude. By the end of that year he had shipped his completed work to the scholarship’s trustees in Melbourne. Meldrum had returned to Paris by 1902 to attend the Louvre to work on his copy of Paolo Veronese’s ''The Flight of Loth (AKA Flight from Sodom)''. While he again took up places at the academies, it was more for want of a place to work, later remarking that he “took little interest” in their teaching.


Career

He ran the Meldrum School of Painting there between 1916 and 1926. Among his students were
Clarice Beckett Clarice Marjoribanks Beckett (21 March 1887 – 7 July 1935) was an Australian artist and a key member of the Australian Tonalism, Australian tonalist movement. Known for her subtle, misty landscapes of Melbourne and its suburbs, Beckett develop ...
,
Colin Colahan Colin Cuthbert Orr Colahan (12 February 1897 – 6 June 1987) was an Australian painter and sculptor who was educated at Xavier College. Colahan was born in Woodend, Victoria in 1897, the second youngest of the six children of Surgeon-Ma ...
, Auguste Cornels,
Percy Leason Percy Alexander Leason (23 February 1889 – 11 September 1959) was an Australian art critic, political cartoonist and artist who was a major figure in the Australian tonalist movement. As a painter and commercial artist his works span two co ...
, John Farmer, Polly Hurry, Justus Jorgensen,
Arnold Shore Arnold Joseph Victor Shore (5 May 1897, Windsor, – 22 May 1963, Melbourne) was an Australian painter, teacher and critic. Biography Shore was the youngest of seven children of John Shore, a coachsmith, and his wife Harriett Sarah, née Mc ...
and
Gray Smith Gray Smith (13 February 1919 – 7 August 1990) was an Australian artist, poet and jeweller who was part of the Heide Circle. While best known as the famous Australian artist Joy Hester's spouse, his most productive artistic period came later ...
, and had considerable influence on the work of his friend Alexander Colquhoun, whose son Archibald was also a Meldrum student at that time. In 1916–17 he was elected president of 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 ...
, but was dropped from the position amidst controversy the following year, inspiring his students to form a breakaway group, the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society, which remains active in the Melbourne arts scene to this day. Drawing on Meldrum's principles, the group released a statement describing their central tenet: Meldrum influenced the young Albert Ernest Newbury.


On modern art

Despite his leadership of a group, the Australian tonalists, which has lately come to be regarded as a precursor to
minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
, Meldrum's attitude to
modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
was
reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
; in 1937 he described it as 'savagery', 'crude and vile' and 'likely to debase the taste of our children', condemning one example as 'an explosion in a sawmill'


On women artists

Though women were amongst his followers, with one,
Clarice Beckett Clarice Marjoribanks Beckett (21 March 1887 – 7 July 1935) was an Australian artist and a key member of the Australian Tonalism, Australian tonalist movement. Known for her subtle, misty landscapes of Melbourne and its suburbs, Beckett develop ...
, whom he held in high regard, Meldrum in criticizing
Nora Heysen Nora Heysen, (11 January 1911 – 30 December 2003) was an Australian artist, the first woman to win the Archibald Prize in 1938 for portraiture and the first Australian woman appointed as an official war artist. Early years Heysen was born in ...
's winning the 1938
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 ...
, proclaimed:


Personal life

While living in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, he married Jeanne Eugenie Nitsch, a singer with the
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
. Meldrum and his wife returned to Australia on board the
cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...
in 1931.


Death

Meldrum died on 6 June 1955 in
Kew, Victoria Kew () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, found 5 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District. Kew is located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of ...
, aged 79.


Exhibitions

* 1943, from 1 December; Inclusion in a group show of ninety-one paintings and etchings with
Arnold Shore Arnold Joseph Victor Shore (5 May 1897, Windsor, – 22 May 1963, Melbourne) was an Australian painter, teacher and critic. Biography Shore was the youngest of seven children of John Shore, a coachsmith, and his wife Harriett Sarah, née Mc ...
,
Allan Jordan Allan Holder Jordan (1898–1982) was an Australian painter, designer, printmaker and teacher. Early life Allan Jordon was born in 1898 in Elsternwick, Victoria, Elsternwick, the son of Sandhurst-born customs agent James Oliver Jordan and Maud ...
, John Rowell, Jas. Quinn, John Farmer, Mary Hurry, Dora Serle, Margaret Pestell, Dora Wilson, Isabel Tweddle, Aileen Dent, Murray Griffin, Geo. Colville, and Victor Cog. Hawthorn Library.


External links


Max Meldrum's works
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 ...

Max Meldrum, the Meldrumites and Montsalvat
by Alex Gionfriddo
Max Meldrum
ustralian Art and Artists file''
State Library Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...
'' * Duncan Max Meldrum Pictor aetatis suae LXIII, 1940, by Andor Meszaros, sculpted portrait medallion, State Library of New South Wales
DL Pa 104
*Joyce McGrath, Bernard Smith,

, ''
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 10, MUP, 1986, pp 480–482. retrieved 2009-10-13 * Duncan Max Meldrum Pictor aetatis suae LXIII, 1940, by Andor Meszaros, sculpted portrait medallion, State Library of New South Wales
DL Pa 104


Manuscript sources

* Correspondence Max Meldrum, 1950, State Library of New South Wales
MLMSS 5288 Add-on 1933/Box 01


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meldrum, Max 1875 births 1955 deaths Archibald Prize winners Archibald Prize finalists Painters from Edinburgh Tonalism Australian portrait painters Scottish portrait painters 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Australian painters Australian male painters 20th-century Scottish male artists Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni