Robert Hawker Dowling (1827 – 8 July 1886) was an Australian colonial artist.

Biography

Dowling was born in

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 ...

the youngest son of Rev. Henry Dowling and his wife Elizabeth, ''née'' Darke. He was brought to

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

with his parents in 1839 in the ''Janet''. He received lessons from

Thomas Bock Thomas Bock was an English-Australian artist and an early adopter of photography in Australia. Born in England he was sentenced to transportation in 1823. After gaining his freedom he set himself up as one of Australia's first professional a ...

and

Frederick Strange Frederick Strange (c. 1826 – 15 October 1854) was a collector of plant and animal specimens during the early colonisation of Australia. He collected bird specimens for John Gould. He was killed in a conflict between his group and natives on Sou ...

, and in 1850 advertised as a portrait painter. In 1856 Dowling left for

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 ...

partly with the help of friends in Launceston. He exhibited 16 pictures 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 ...

between 1859 and 1882 and others at the British Institute. Returning to Launceston he afterwards came to

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 ...

and painted portraits of Sir Henry Loch, Dr James Moorhouse,

Francis Ormond Francis Ormond (23 November 1827 – 5 May 1889) was a Scottish-born Australian pastoralist, member of the Parliament of Victoria and philanthropist in the areas of education and religion. Ormond is notable for founding the Working Men's Coll ...

, and others. He went to London again in 1886 but died shortly after his arrival. Dowling was a conscientious painter of figure subjects, often scriptural or eastern. He is represented in the Melbourne and Launceston galleries. On 2 May 2007, one of Dowling's paintings – ''Masters George, William and Miss Harriet Ware with the Aborigine Jamie Ware'' – was bought for A$823,500 by 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 ...

References

* * Isabella J. Mead,
Dowling, Robert Hawker (1827 - 1886)
, ''

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 4, MUP, 1972, p. 98. Retrieved on 4 October 2008 Additional resources listed by the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'': *H. Button, ''Flotsam and Jetsam'' (Launceston, 1909); 'no 364. "Early Effort: Art in Australia"', ''Art-Journal'' (London), 1860, p 169; ''Art-Journal'' (London), 1860, pp 351, 379; Examiner (Launceston), 5, 19 Mar 1851, 25 Aug, 20, 23 Oct 1860, 19 Feb 1863, 16 Feb, 20 1864, 15, 17 July 1886; ''Atlas'' (London), 25 Aug 1860; ''Cornwall Chronicle'' (Launceston), 20 Oct 1860, 29 June 1877; ''Daily Telegraph'' (Launceston), 23 Feb, 26 Mar 1885, ''Tasmanian'' (Launceston), 24 Apr 1886

External links

Robert Dowling
at ARTcyclopedia
Grandfather's visit 1865
-

Ballarat Fine Art Gallery The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest regional art gallery in Australia. It was established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by a company of interested citizens led by James Oddie. It initially rented out the first floor of the Balla ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Robert Hawker 1827 births 1886 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia Settlers of Tasmania 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists Australian male painters