Richard Godfrey Rivers (1858 – 4 February 1925), generally known as R. Godfrey Rivers, was an English artist, active in Australia and president of the
Queensland Art Society from 1892–1901 and 1904–08.
Early life
Richard Godfrey Rivers was born in 1858 in
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, England, the son of Richard Rivers and Bertha (née Harris).
[Janet Hogan,]
Rivers, Richard Godfrey (1859? – 1925)
, ''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 397-398. Retrieved 10 November 2009 His older brother was
Arthur Richard Rivers, an Anglican priest in Australia.
Rivers studied at the
Slade School of 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 ...
(1877–83) in London under
Professor Alphonse Legros. He won a landscape painting prize there in 1883 and exhibited 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 ...
in 1884.
Artistic career
Rivers emigrated to Australia in 1889 and taught at
Katoomba College
Katoomba is the main town and council seat of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and is the administrative centre of Blue Mountains City Council.
Situated on the Great Western Highway and the Great Western Railway, Katoo ...
(along with
Phil May). Rivers was second art master at
Brisbane Central Technical College
Brisbane Central Technical College is a heritage-listed technical college at 2 George Street, Brisbane, George Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1911 to 1956. It became ...
from 1890 to 1915;
[ and was president of the Queensland Art Society from 1892–1901 and 1904–08. He was also honorary curator of the Queensland National Art Gallery from 1895 to 1914.][
On 25 Sept 1901, Richard Godfrey Rivers married Selina Jane (née Bell) at ]St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
St John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia. It is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The cathedral is situated in Ann Street ...
, the ceremony being conducted by his brother Arthur. The couple had a son (also named Richard Godfrey) in 1907 but he died in 1912 and was buried in Toowong Cemetery
Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...
.[Toowong Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions – Queensland Family History Society Inc]
In 1903, Rivers painted a picture ''Under the Jacaranda'', which has been described as "quintessentially Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
". The painting of Rivers and his wife Selina taking tea beside the Brisbane Central Technical College under the shade of Australia's first Jacaranda
''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name.
The species ' ...
tree planted in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens by the garden's first curator Walter Hill
Walter Hill (born January 10, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western (genre), Western genre. He has directed such films as ''The Driver'', ''The Warriors (film), The ...
. The woman in the painting is often described as his future wife Miss Selina Bell, despite the couple marrying in 1901, although it is possible that an earlier version of the work preceded their marriage. The painting is part of the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery
The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away.
The Queensland Art Galle ...
.
Rivers established a local reputation as a portrait painter, and portraits by him of Sir Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and t ...
and others hang in the supreme court at Brisbane. He also taught at the Brisbane High School for Girls
Somerville House is an independent, boarding and day school for girls, located in South Brisbane, an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Established in 1899 as the Brisbane High School for Girls, the School was eventually name ...
and at Brisbane Girls Grammar School
Brisbane Girls Grammar School is an independent non-denominational secondary day school for girls, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1875, the school is one of eight grammar schools in Queen ...
. He moved to Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
, Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
in 1915 and tried to raise interest in the Hobart gallery.
Later life
Rivers died of typhoid fever in London, England on 4 February 1925. He was cremated in London and his ashes buried in his son's grave in Toowong Cemetery
Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...
, Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. A memorial service was held for him in St John's Cathedral in Brisbane. His wife Selina died in 1948 in Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
, Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. She was cremated there and her ashes were also buried in their son's grave in Toowong Cemetery.
Legacy
Examples of Rivers' outdoor work are in the state galleries at Sydney and Brisbane.
His wife Selina founded the Godfrey Rivers Trust. On alternating years, the trust would purchase an overseas art work or provide a prize for local artists.
References
External links
Rivers Richard Godfrey
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, Richard Godfrey
1858 births
1925 deaths
19th-century English painters
English male painters
20th-century English painters
Australian painters
Burials at Toowong Cemetery
Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art
20th-century English male artists
19th-century English male artists
Artists from Brisbane
English emigrants to colonial Australia
Artists from Plymouth, Devon