John Mather (artist)
John Mather (1848 – 18 February 1916) was a Scottish-Australian plein-air painter and etcher.[1]
John Mather the Artist– A Snapshot
John Mather was a Scottish artist who emigrated to Melbourne in 1878.[2] He quickly established himself and became an Associate of the Victorian Academy of Arts,[3] exhibiting his work with that academy and subsequent art associations and societies for many years. John Mather exhibited his works in Victoria as well other Australian states and overseas.[4]
John Mather was one of the early practitioners of painting en plein air in Victoria and his work predates that of other better-known plein air artists.[5][6][7][8][9]
Together with other artists he established the Australian Artists Association in 1886.[10][11][12][13][14] At the time, the Association was described as: a distinctively Australian school of landscape painters ... who look at colonial scenery with their own eyes, and not through European spectacles.[15]
John Mather worked towards bringing the Academy and Association together to form the Victorian Artists Society in 1888[16][17][18] and served as its president for many years.[1] In 1892 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Public Library, Museums and National Gallery of Victoria.[1] John Mather was a member of the Felton Bequest Committee from 1905 to 1916 and as trustee, strongly supported Australian art.[1]
John Mather was a landscape painter of considerable reputation during his lifetime,[19][20] and was a celebrated teacher.[21]
However a little more than decade after his death he was almost forgotten.[22] Mather died on 18 February 1916 and lay in a grave with no memorial until 2023 when a plaque was added to his grave simply stating: Mr John Mather 1848 – 1916 The beauty of his Art endures.[23][24] The words, his Art endures, refers to his painting and etching but also the art he nurtured as a mentor, teacher and one of the founding fathers of art in Victoria.[25]
Early life
Mather was born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, son of John Mather, a surveyor, and his wife Margaret, née Allan.[1]
John Mather spent his youth sketching and painting.[26] He had access to the art collection of the Duke of Hamilton and was familiar with all the works.[27] When about 15 years old he had his first art lessons with Thomas Fairbairn (1820-1884),[27] an art teacher and prominent local water colourist[28] who moved to Hamilton about 1850, possibly to be near the oak tree forest of Cadzow.[notes 1]
John Mather studied at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts.[1] He first exhibited there in 1871 with a water colour of old Highland cottages titled A Bit near Calgary Castle - Isle of Mull.[27][31][32][notes 2] From Glasgow, John Mather went to Edinburgh, where he studied at the school of the National Gallery and painted ''bits'' of the old part of the city, which sold rapidly.[31][34] There he exhibited works as painter in annual exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1873.[35][notes 3]
In 1873 – 74, John Mather went to Paris and remarked: I saw the miles of pictures that are to be seen in Paris, and studied them as well as I could.[34]
After Paris he went to London, worked and painted as he had done in Edinburgh. Subsequently, he went back to Scotland and continued at his art.[34] There whilst residing in Glasgow, he again exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts in 1876[32] and at the Royal Scottish Academy Edinburgh in 1877.[35]
Arrival and establishment in Melbourne
Emigrating to Melbourne in 1878, John Mather listed his occupation as Painter using the nomenclature of the Royal Glasgow Institute and the Royal Scottish Academy at that time.[2][32][35] Less than 12 months later, on 3rd December 1878, John Mather was elected as an Associate of the Victorian Academy of Arts.[3]
In April 1879 he exhibited 11 works at the Annual Exhibition of the Victorian Academy of Arts[75] and was noted as a large exhibitor.[76] He exhibited two oils, Yarra Flats and Evening on the Yarra, and nine watercolours, A Woodland Path Scotland; Sketch near Essendon; Spring-time Scotland; Sketch on Brighton Beach; Lagoon, Yarra Flats; On the Tamar, Tasmania; Old Cottage, Argyllshire Scotland; Old Huts, Isle of Mull, Scotland and A Grey Day, Glen Falloch, Scotland.[75]
In 1879 he was described as a young artist under engagement to Messrs. Gillow and Co. the firm entrusted with the decoration of Mandeville Hall at Toorak, now known as Loreto Mandeville Hall.[77] On 19 December 1879, John Mather's tender of £4700[78] for the internal decorations of the Exhibition Buildings was accepted by the Building Committee of the International Exhibition.[79]
John Mather exhibited again in 1880 and 1881. On 27 October 1881 he was elected to the Council of the Victorian Academy of Arts.[80] In April 1882 he exhibited a number of oil paintings and water colours at the annual exhibition of the Academy,[75] Noted for his industriousness: there are no less than 11 works bearing his name. Most of them are of rural or woodland scenery, rendered with much artistic feeling, whether in oil or water-colour.[81] Later that year he exhibited another six works in the First Black and White Exhibition of the Academy.[82]
He was married on 16 October 1882[83] to Miss Jessie Pines Best, a daughter of Captain James Best, a pilot of Hobson's Bay. Together they had one daughter and three sons; Margaret Playfair, John Allan, Louis Melville (died in infancy), and Leslie Frank Strand (died in 1919).[84][85]
John Mather's 'Plein Air' Work
John Mather was one of the early practitioners of painting en plein air in Victoria.[5]
Contemporary reports noted that since his arrival in Melbourne ... Mr Mather has been travelling all through Victoria in the employment of his brush and pencil and has given to the public so many examples of his skill in depicting the most picturesque localities.[86] When completing a painting of Mt Feathertop, he undertook a daily walk of 12 miles for a fortnight to complete the work[87] ... leaving the picture on the spot where he was painting it, and frequently returning to find it so buried in snow that he had to actually dig it out ...[88]
His early interest in the landscape around Heidelberg is demonstrated by Wattles at Heidelberg and Leaving off Work, Heidelberg Road, both exhibited with the Victorian Academy of Arts in 1881.[89] He exhibited the following year, Near the Yarra, Heidelberg and Stubble Field, Heidelberg. Another example is a water colour of bushland and river The Yarra at Heidelberg, signed and dated 1882.[90]
Early in 1885 John Mather painted oil and water colour landscapes near Sunbury, Riddell's Creek and Healesville.[96] In autumn 1885, he made two trips to the Upper Yarra valley,[97][98] which was described as an artist’s paradise with richly varied and delightfully picturesque scenery.[99] In April 1885, he displayed the results of his first trip to the Upper Yarra valley in his studio at 95 Collins Street East.[100]
John Mather was also noted as amongst the artists marching along the road to Heidelberg in 1885, the first organised effort in Melbourne to form a group for landscape painting. The artists included Arthur Streeton, Walter Withers, John Longstaff, Fredrick McCubbin, E. Phillips Fox, Louis Abrahams, Jane Sutherland, Tudor St George Tucker, John Llewellyn Jones, Tom Humphries, and Fredrick Williams.[101]
These trips predated the artist's camps of Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Walter Withers, Frederick McCubbin, Charles Condor and others at Box Hill, Mentone, and Heidelberg, and elsewhere.[101] These would later become increasingly popular places to visit. John Mather is noted as being a member of the Eaglemont camp[102] and addressing a large gathering of eighty artists, students and their friends there.[103][104]
Around this time, Streeton, then about twenty-two, 'sketched' with Paterson and Mather, regarding himself as a student in their company.[105][notes 6] He later wrote: “We three painters met at Flinders Street Station, Melbourne … They were my seniors by about fifteen years, and it was kind of them to invite me to join in their painting trip to the ocean shore at Kilcunda.”.[109]
Mather's affinity with en plein air is revealed when discussing a broad range of his favorite paintings in the National Gallery of Victoria. Commenting on Peter Graham's Autumnal Showers he states; he was in intimate converse with nature, when every new effect was an unspeakable joy, a new delight and a fresh discovery...[the work] ... must have been a labour of love.[110][notes 7]
Whilst some of Mather's larger pictures were painted indoors from sketches; it was when seated out in the open with a small block or pochade before him that he was at his happiest and came nearest to the realisation of his ideals as an artist.[116]
A Glimpse of Melbourne's Art Scene in the mid 1880s
In 1885;[101] "returning to Melbourne after an absence of four years, Roberts found Mather, John Ford Paterson, McCubbin and Streeton all hard at work."[117]
That same year, Mr. J.T. Buxton erected a new art premises, Buxton's Art Gallery in Swanston Street, opposite the Melbourne Town Hall.[118][119]
In June 1886 a meeting was held at the Buxton's Art Gallery where it was unanimously resolved that an exhibition be held annually in central Melbourne to be called the Winter Exhibition of Works by Australian Artists. John Mather was amongst those present, as well as: Mr. Addison, Mr. G. R. Ashton, Mr. Percival Ball, Signor Catani, Mr. J.W. Curtis, Mr. McCubbin, Mr. Gibbs, Signor Habres, Mr. Kahler, Signor Tocein, Signor Neele, Mr. Patterson, Mr. Rolando, Mr. T. Roberts and Mr. Turner.[120][121]
The first annual exhibition of the Australian Artists' Association was opened 8 Sept 1886 in Buxton's Art Gallery. Contemporary reports highlighted the following artists, including John Mather; J. F. Paterson, Herr Kabler, Julian Ashton, S. R. Ashton, C. Rolando, F. McCubbin, A. Loureiro, Alice Chapman, T. Roberts, J. G. Gibbs, L. Buvelot, Vauder, Ley, and C. W. Foster.[122] [notes 8]
At the time it was observed:
that a distinctively Australian school of landscape painters is being formed, who look at colonial scenery with their own eyes, and not through European spectacles; and although they are perhaps a little too much under the influence of the French impressionists, of whose works a good many examples have reached us, they certainly aim at a faithful and vivid, if free and sketchy, reproduction of local form and colour.[126]
About 85 oil paintings and watercolours were exhibited. Some of the artists work, including that of John Mather, were commented upon:
It is interesting to watch the general leaning of our young artists and art students towards the French methods of landscape painting; their avoidance of too much definition of form, and their disposition to secure striking effects by colour laid on in broad masses. This is observable in Mr. Mather's bit of genuine nature, "On the Watts River;"... Turning to the water-colour drawings, the eye is arrested by Mr. Mather's "Cape Wollamai, Phillip Island," and his "View on the Saltwater River," which are almost as solid in colour and as full of strength as oil paintings. The first is a very striking picture, and perfectly true to nature. The second resembles a drawing in black and white, as there is only here and there a slight suggestion of colour. In both compositions the masterly treatment of clouds and water is too obvious to be overlooked.[127]
After the first exhibition, the Australian Artist's Association was formalised. In October 1886 the rules of the Association were developed and an Executive Committee elected consisting of Patterson, Ashton, Mather, Ball, Gow, Loureiro and Catani. Later Roberts and McCubbin were added to the committee.[14]
The Association went on to hold two more exhibitions in the summer and winter of 1887. The 1887 Exhibition Selection Committee comprised Roberts, Mather and Patterson with a sculptor and architect to be nominated. The Hanging Committee comprised Ball, Mather, Patterson and Ashton.[14]
The Australian Artist's Association exhibitions of 1886 and 1887 included works such as McCubbin's Lost 1886, Robert's The Sunny South (painting), Streeton's June Evening Box Hill as well as works by Withers, Patterson and other artists including John Mather.[128][129]
The Australian Artist's Association membership grew to over 160 members.[130] John Mather was also a member of the Victorian Academy of Arts and worked towards bringing the two organisations together.[16] In March 1888 the Academy and the Association amalgamated.[18] On John Mather's motion, seconded by John Ford Paterson, the amalgamated organisation was named the Victorian Artists Society.[17]
Career
In 1878, John Mather joined the Victorian Academy of Arts[3] and in 1881 he was elected to its Council.[80] During this time Mather was also responsible for the decoration of the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne.[131][132][133][134]
Later he joined the bohemian Buonarotti Club, camping with other members on plein-air painting expeditions, and served, with Frederick McCubbin, Louis Abrahams, Jane Sutherland, and Tom Roberts on the club's exhibition selection committee.[135] As a painter, Mather was also involved in the bohemian Artists' Camps of Sydney.
In 1886, together with other professional artists, he was a founding member of the Australian Artists' Association, serving on the Executive Committee, as well its Exhibition Selection and Hanging Committees.[14] The amalgamation of the Australian Artists' Association and Victorian Academy of Arts in 1888 subsequently established the Victorian Artists' Society, and he served as its president for twelve years in 1893–1900, 1906–1908 and 1911.[1]
In 1892 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Public Library, Museums and National Gallery of Victoria.[1] Mather was a member of the Felton Bequest Committee from 1905 to 1916 and as trustee, strongly supported Australian art.[1]
In 1912 along with Frederick McCubbin, Max Meldrum, Walter Withers Mather formed the breakaway Australian Art Association.[1]
Three of Mather's own paintings, Autumn in the Fitzroy Gardens in oils, and Morning, Lake Omeo and Wintry Weather, Yarra Glen, both watercolours, were purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria.[1]
Exhibition History
Throughout his career John Mather exhibited his works in Victoria as well other Australian states and overseas.[4]
Prior to emigrating to Australia he exhibited at:
- Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts in 1871 and 1876.[32]
- Royal Scottish Academy Edinburgh in 1873 and 1877.[35]
In Victoria he exhibited in:
- The Victorian Academy of Arts Annual Exhibitions from 1879 to 1887.[136]
- The Victorian Academy of Arts Black and White Exhibitions of 1882 and 1883.[137][138]
- Ballarat Fine Art Exhibition 1884.[139][140]
- The Australian Artists Association Exhibitions of 1886 and the Summer and Winter Exhibitions of 1887.[141]
- The Victorian Society of Artists Exhibitions of Spring 1888, Autumn 1888, Winter 1889, 1895, Autumn 1900, 1904, 1905 and 1909.[142]
- The Victorian Society of Artists Exhibition of Water Colour and Black and White Drawings 1890.[143]
- The Victorian Society of Artists Annual Exhibitions from 1890 to 1911, (other than in 1902 and 1903).[144]
- The Australian Art Association exhibitions from 1913 to 1916.[145]
In the other Australian states, he exhibited in the:
- Annual Exhibitions of the Royal Art Society of New South Wales from 1883 to 1888 as well as in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1899, and 1900.[154]
- Exhibition of John Mather’s Water Colours, 1911 Trowbridge Bros, Elizabeth Street, Hobart.[155]
- South Australian Society of Arts, September 1913 Mr. J. Mathers Exhibition of paintings and etchings.[156]
Some of his works were part of a New South Wales provincial exhibition of a Loan Collection of Pictures by the National Art Gallery and Art Association of New South Wales exhibited in:
- 1895 at the Bathurst Technological Museum.[157]
- 1896 at the Goulburn Technological Museum.[158]
- 1897 at the Newcastle Technological Museum.[159]
His works were exhibited in colonial and international exhibitions held in Victoria including the:
- 1888 Melbourne Centennial Exhibition at the Melbourne Exhibition Building Picture Galleries.[160]
- 1890 Exhibition of Works of Victorian Artists and a Loan Collection of Pictures at the Art Gallery of the Exhibition Building.[161]
- 1893 Exhibition of Australian Art, Past and Present at the National Gallery, Swanston Street.[162]
- 1901 Victorian Gold Jubilee Exhibition, Bendigo.[163]
His works were exhibited internationally in:
- 1883-1884 Calcutta International Exhibition which included A Morning Walk by the Yarra now in the collection of the Ballarat Art Gallery.[164][165][166]
- 1886 at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition London.[167][168][169]
- 1898 at the Grafton Galleries Exhibition of Australian Art in London.[170]
- 1899 at the Earls Court, London Greater Britain Exhibition.[171]
As well as exhibitions at his studios, he held larger solo exhibitions including his:
- 1904 Exhibition of Australian Landscapes by John Mather at the Athenaeum Melbourne.[172]
- 1911 Exhibition of Mr J. Mather’s Paintings, at the Athenaeum Melbourne.[173]
- 1912 Exhibition of Mr J. Mather’s Paintings, at the Athenaeum Melbourne.[174]
In 1916 after his death his wife organised the Memorial Exhibition of Pictures by the late John Mather, at the Athenaeum, Melbourne.[175]
John Mather's Studio
Painting en plein air has been overemphasised and the role of studio work understated in Australian art history.[176] Whilst periodically undertaking outdoor painting, many Australian artists maintained studios in the cities.[177]
John Mather had a number of studios throughout his career and used them for his art, both painting and etching; as well as art lessons, exhibitions of his work and meetings with fellow artists.
John Mather painted both en plein air and in his studio. His often very large water colours were painted indoors from sketches made in the field.[178] A magic lantern slide of unknown date shows John Mather in his studio posed before a large partially complete watercolour.[179] Likewise in 1898 he is noted as; expanding his fascinating scrap, "Evening," into a water colour, "The Golden West," of large size and characteristic completeness.[180]
As early as 1881 John Mather had a studio at 95 Collins Street Melbourne,[181][182] and by 1888, a studio at Healesville which he maintained until about 1894.[183][184][185]
In March 1891, he opened a studio at the Austral Buildings Collins Street Melbourne giving classes for the study of oil and water-color painting. The morning classes were held from ten o'clock until one, and the afternoon from two until five. The studio was filled with landscape sketches and studies for the free use of his pupils.[186]
Described in 1891;The studio is large and well lit and attractively furnished, while it is not overladen with the heterogenous collection so dear to the heart of the average artist. Mr. Mather’s room is made to appear what it is - a place to work and study, and the number of sketches in oil and water color that adorn the walls, proclaim the busy life of the painter.[201]
He also had studios at his various residences.[202][203] His last studio at his South Yarra residence was described as a large low room with polished floor contained a grand piano and a few art treasures and beautiful hangings. The artist's own pictures took up most of the wall space, and the dark polished floor was shining perfection. ... Mather’s own little grandson was sometimes an interested spectator when the artist was at work. Once the child asked “Why is that cow white, grandpa?” In reply the artist explained the colour scheme of his picture it some length, concluding with the exact reason why, to complete the colour scheme, that cow in the foreground was white. To all of which the five-year-old child listened patiently, then contradicted him briefly with, “Tis not. It's because it's full of milk " [204]
Residences, Studios and other Addresses
Mather had a number of homes, studios and other addresses throughout his career, including:
| 1871 | 23 Holmes Street, Hamilton, Lanarkshire[32] | Address | |||
| 1873 | 35 Orchard St, Hamilton Lanarkshire[35] | Address | |||
| 1876 | - 1877 | 21 Portland Pl, Hamilton Lanarkshire[32][35] | Address | ||
| 1879 | 83 Swanston Street Melbourne[205] | Address | |||
| 1880 | 5 Royal Terrace Nicholson Street[206] | Address | |||
| 1881 | 1 Eaton Terrace Grattan Street Carlton[207] | Address | |||
| 1881 | Davis Street South Yarra,[208] | Residence | |||
| 1881 | - 1887 | 95 Collins Street Melbourne[209][210][211][212][213] | Studio | ||
| 1885 | - 1888 | 33 Darling Street, South Yarra[214] | Residence | ||
| 1885 | Artistic Stationery Company (Buxton's) incorporating business of F. Hyman & J. Mather, Artists, Colormen and Stationers and Decorating Business, 69, 71, 131 Swanston Street and 84 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne[211] | Business | |||
| 1886 | - 1888 | Blannin Street Healesville (Purchased 1881)[215][216] | Studio[217][218] | ||
| 1888 | - 1889 | 3 Murphy Street, South Yarra[219][220][221][222][223] | Residence and Studio | ||
| 1889 | c.1894 | Koombahla, Healesville[218][224] | Residence and for some years prior a studio (see above) | ||
| 1891 | - 1891 | Grosvenor Chambers, 9 Collins Street Melbourne (Occupied Tom Robert's studio)[225] | Studio | ||
| 1891 | c.1913 | Austral Building 117-119 Collins Street, Melbourne[226] | Studio | ||
| 1895 | c.1901 | The Pines, Wellington Street, Brighton[227][228] | Residence | ||
| 1900 | - 1902 | 136 Alma Rd East St. Kilda (Carhue School for Girls)[229] | Studio | ||
| 1901 | - 1912 | 156 Alma Rd, East St. Kilda[230] | Residence and Studio | ||
| 1912 | - 1916 | Cadzow, 383 Toorak Road, South Yarra[231][232] | Residence and Studio |
Students
Mr John Mather is reported to have had a wide celebrity as a teacher, and ... there are artists of repute in Melbourne now who commenced their careers in his Austral School in Collins Street.[21] He gave lessons at his studio in the Austral Building and at his residences. His lessons included outdoor sketching excursions, often along the coast, where students used pencil, pen and ink and watercolor.[234]
His students include:
- Jessie Traill[247] [notes 13]
- Ida Rentoul Outhwaite[249]
- Jessie Laver Evans
- Janet Cumbrae-Stewart[250]
- M. J. MacNally[251]
- Ellis Rowan[252][253]
- Miss Robertson[254]
- Lady Downer[255]
- Margaret Forrest or Lady Forrest[256]
- Lady Williams[256]
- David Davies[257]
- Alexander McClintock[258]
- Polly Hurry
- Dora Wilson[259]
- Janie Wilkinson Whyte
- James Fawcett[260] of Fawcett and Ashworth
- Arthur Jerome Salmon[261]
Etchings
John Mather was among the earliest practitioners of etching in Victoria, producing his first known print, a portrait of Louis Abrahams, around 1886.[262] The previous year John Mather, Tom Roberts and Louis Abrahams had begun teaching themselves etching techniques.[263][notes 14]
By the early 1890s Mather had produced a number of landscape etchings and was printing his own plates.[268][notes 15] In 1894 he imported a professional printing press and equipment from London, strengthening the technical foundations of etching practice in Melbourne.[notes 16]
Mather first exhibited an etching, Bathing-place on the Watts, at the Victorian Artists’ Society Annual Exhibition in September 1895,[280] where it was noted as; conspicuous as the only bit of nude work in the collection. [281]
Alongside his figurative and landscape prints, Mather produced numerous etchings of windswept tea-trees along Brighton Beach, before shifting after 1900 toward larger architectural and urban compositions.[282]
In the late 1890s he was the only artist in Australia formally teaching etching,[283] and in 1900 he was described as a master of the medium.[284][notes 18]
Mather was later associated with etchers including John Shirlow, Victor Cobb and Lionel Lindsay.[286] Although Shirlow was frequently described as the pioneer of Victorian etching, he himself disclaimed the title, pointing to the work of earlier practitioners including Mather.[287]
Death
Mather died of diabetes at his home, Cadzow, South Yarra, Victoria on 18 February 1916; he was buried in the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery[1] and lay in a grave with no memorial for more than 100 years.[23]
Written just thirteen years after his death;
The war claimed his only son and his daughter who was well known in Melbourne music circles, lives now in the United States. It is as if "the place thereof knoweth him no more " But how can an artist ever be forgotten as long as human eyes are irresistibly drawn to the quiet beauty of his pictures on the wall?[288]
In July 2023 a small plaque was placed on the grave simply stating:
Mr John Mather 1848 – 1916 The beauty of his Art endures.
The words, his Art endures, refers to his painting and etching but also the art he nurtured as a mentor, teacher and one of the founding fathers of art in Victoria.[289]
Loved, Lost and Found - The Art of John Mather
Art historians and researchers, as well as recent exhibitions, are broadening the understanding of Australian art, which has historically emphasised a limited number of artists while giving less attention to other artists and their work.[290][291]
In 1932, John Mather was described as a landscape painter of considerable reputation during his lifetime.[19] Along with artists such as David Davies and John Ford Paterson, he is regarded as a significant figure in the development of Australian plein air painting.[20] Although widely respected during his lifetime, thirteen years after his death his name had largely faded from memory, while his paintings continued to be held in public and private collections.[22]
In 1919, several personal events affected his family. The death of his youngest son, the emigration of his daughter and grandson to the United States, and the illness and later death of his wife overseas meant that by 1920, apart from a son affected by mental illness, none of his immediate family remained in Melbourne.[292] His extensive art collection was subsequently auctioned on 25 June 1919.[293]
In the following decades, leading Australian art magazines of the early 20th century made no reference to John Mather's work.[294] Critics, historians, and curators focused narrowly on a few selected artists and images of Australian impressionism.[295][296] The work of art historians of the 1930s, later transcribed in subsequent art histories, provided little information about his activities.[297] Other than occasional individual works loaned or sold by private owners,[298][299] there were few significant exhibitions of his work.
Similarly, many of the titles of his works have been forgotten, with nominal or generic titles sometimes applied at art auctions.[300] Nevertheless, because Mather depicted scenes accurately as he observed them,[301][302][303] it is often possible to identify the locations of his paintings using historical sources such as photographs, maps, and present-day site inspections. The documented locations of his residences, studios, and painting camps also provide useful context. In some cases, research has enabled the original title to be identified, as with Morning San Remo (1900), which had previously been auctioned under the generic title Lake Scene.
Morning at San Remo, by Mr Mather, is a good realisation of the delicate luminous grey of early morning. The tranquil waters of the inlet reflect the clouds and light overhead, and the suggestion of the atmosphere which seems to rise like the faintest of veils from the surface of the water, is charming.[311] The morning mist rising from the sea is well rendered, a fishing boat is seen pushing off for the day’s work.[312] The effect of the pearly grey softness of his “Morning at San Remo” is spoilt by the treatment of the rocky foreground.[313] " Morning, San Remo," ... makes one feel in love with the time, the place, the artist and all, it is so dreamily fresh and fair.[314]
Through the subject matter and locations of his paintings, the places where he lived and worked, and contemporary newspaper reports and other sources, the life of John Mather can be more clearly understood.
This material contributes to a greater appreciation of his art, his teaching, and the role he played in the early development of Victoria’s art scene. It also provides insight into the artistic environment of Melbourne more than 120 years ago.
Mather's art, widely appreciated during his lifetime but largely forgotten in the decades after his death, has since been rediscovered.
Collections
- National Gallery of Australia[315]
- National Library of New Zealand[316]
- National Gallery of Victoria[134]
- Art Gallery of New South Wales[134]
- Art Gallery of Western Australia[134]
- Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery[134]
- Queensland Art Gallery[317]
- State Library of Victoria[318]
- Geelong Art Gallery[134]
- Ballarat Art Gallery[134]
- Castlemaine Art Museum[134]
- Benalla Art Gallery[319]
- Launceston Art Gallery[134]
- Newcastle Art Gallery[320]
- Latrobe Regional Gallery[321]
- New England Regional Art Museum[322]
- Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery[134]
- Bayside Gallery, Bayside City Council[323]
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ Census transcripts of 1841 to 1851 confirm that Thomas Fairbairn, resided in Glasgow in 1851. He is noted as Teacher of Drawing Portrait and Landscape Painter. Census transcripts of 1861 to 1881 confirm that Thomas Fairbairn had moved to Hamilton. He is noted as Landscape & Portrait Painter and Teacher of Drawing. [29] Fairbairn's relocation from Glasgow to Hamilton may have been because of its proximity to the old oak tree forest of Cadzow. Noting the location as an ideal environment for a painter of woodland scenery and frequented by many Scottish landscape-painters. Also that few water-colour painters of his time excelled Fairbairn in his delineation of forest scenery.[30]
- ^ The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1861-1989 : A Dictionary of Exhibitors at the Annual Exhibitions of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts notes Mather, John, 1848-, Painter, 23 Holmes Street, Hamilton, Lanarkshire as exhibiting two watercolours, catalogue No.547 A Bit near Calgary Castle - Isle of Mull £5 in 1871 and when at 21 Portland Pl, Hamilton Lanarkshire exhibiting catalogue No.500 Burn Sketches £2 in 1876.[33]
- ^ The Royal Scottish Academy Exhibitors 1826-1990, A Dictionary of Artists and their Work in the Annual Exhibitions of The Royal Scottish Academy 1991 notes Mather, John, 1848-, Ptr, 35 Orchard St, Hamilton as exhibiting catalogue No.1130 Arthur's Seat etc from Queen's Park in 1873 and when at 21 Portland Pl, Hamilton exhibiting catalogue No.829 Waterfall, Covan Burn, Hamilton in 1877. John Mather's discipline is noted as a painter. The disciplines noted for other artists include miniaturist, engraver (which includes etchers, lithographers, etc.) sculptor or architect.[36]
- ^ John Mather painted Pioneer’s Cottages in 1878, the year he arrived in Melbourne.[37] The watercolour bears his early monogrammed signature, also seen on another 1878 work held by the National Gallery of Victoria,[38] a practice he did not continue in later works.[39]
Pioneer’s Cottages may not be the original title of the painting. While the term pioneer was in use in 1878,[40] it was not typical of Mather’s naming practice and may have been applied later. Nevertheless, the title is appropriate, reflecting his use of generic nouns when depicting buildings within a landscape.[41] Also, the word pioneer carries clear associations with early gold rush settlement, indicating the cottages predate the painting and linking the subject to the formative years of Victoria.
Old homes, cottages, and buildings were among Mather’s favourite subjects. He referred to these places as “bits”—buildings to which people felt a strong sense of attachment or belonging.[42] His earliest exhibited work, A Bit near Calgary Castle – Isle of Mull (1871),[43] depicted Highland cottages.[44] In Edinburgh, he painted “bits” of the old city, which sold rapidly.[45] Later, he commented:
"I always had a liking for painting ancient buildings, and while in Edinburgh I did a great deal of the old city, and the pictures went like hot cakes. I have been doing something in the same line in Melbourne and Perth, and the work reminded me of bygone times. It is seldom that one can get old buildings out here, though. I suppose (with a smile) the bush hut is about the most interesting”.[46]
Mather’s travels are evident from his exhibited works. In 1879 he exhibited Yarra Flats and Lagoon, Yarra Flats (now Yarra Glen),[47] and in 1880 On the Stevenson’s River, Marysville.[48] These works indicate visits to the Upper Yarra in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Newspaper reports confirm later trips to the area,[49] and throughout his career he continued to depict older huts, cottages, and farmhouses in the Healesville area.[50]
At this time, the interest in bush tracks, scenery and early structures featured prominently in contemporary photography, art, and literature, as seen in the work of John Henry Harvey, Fred Kruger, Nicholas Caire, and John William Lindt.[51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] Notably, their images of tracks, coaches, weathered buildings, and fencing closely correspond with those depicted in Mather’s painting. They confirm that these landscape elements existed in the Healesville area and that the watercolour represents them accurately.
The painting depicts the location as a stopping place for coaches.[59] This is consistent with later accounts of mail contractors carrying meat, groceries, newspapers, and other supplies to places along the Yarra Track.[60][61][62]
Subdivision plans surveyed in 1865 and contemporary directories detail many buildings in Healesville’s main street, but only two sites with buildings beyond the town: the Glenwatts Store and a second group about two miles from Healesville, briefly known as Cameron’s Tri Bhean Hotel.[63][64][65]
No other buildings appear until the settlements of Maytown and Fernshaw, about six miles from Healesville.[66][67] By 1866, buildings at nearby New Chum were already being dismantled and relocated.[68] Apart from the Glenwatts Store and the former Cameron’s Tri Bhean Hotel, no early gold rush buildings are recorded near Healesville.
Of these two locations, the 1878 painting most closely matches the landscape looking east along McGregor Avenue East toward the Glenwatts Store site. The slope of the land, the gentle rise of the road, and the distant hills correspond with the painting.
These features indicate McGregor Avenue East as the likely location of Mather’s Pioneer’s Cottages.
The 1876 – 77, Probate of Ewen Cameron’s will describes a two acre property with a dilapidated seven room weatherboard dwelling and outbuildings, valued at £60.[69] Mather’s painting similarly depicts a group of rustic, ageing buildings.[70]
Together, the subdivision plans, directories, landscape assessment, probate of the will, and the painting present a consistent picture of an older dwelling or store on the site in the late 1870s. By 1878, the Glenwatts Store was among the oldest surviving buildings near Healesville, established by an early pioneer on the Yarra Track.
Pioneer’s Cottages likely depicts the Glenwatts Store, established by Ewen Cameron in the early 1860s at the junction of Cameron’s Track and an early route of the Yarra Track. The store was located on the north-west corner of McGregor Avenue East and Maroondah Parade, about 2.5 kilometres from central Healesville.
The cottages are evocative of the rustic lodgings Mather sometimes experienced: “… he occasionally found his lodgings as primitive as could well be imagined. More than once he had to hastily remove his sketches and himself into the open air, on account of some individuals having a tendency to set the place on fire, after indulging in a rather injudicious testing of the liquor in the hotel bar.” [71]
As a surviving rustic building from the early Yarra Track, the Glenwatts Store held strong historical and visual appeal within a picturesque bush landscape. In 1878, the track remained in use[72][73] and was still recalled eighty years later.[74] Together, the site’s appearance, age, setting, and associations with the early gold rush made it a subject of clear artistic interest for John Mather.
The painting is significant as:
• An early watercolour, likely painted en plein air.
• A historical record of the Yarra Track and one of its earliest stores, rendered in colour.
• One of only two known works by John Mather from his first year in Australia.
• One of the few works bearing his monogram-style signature.
- ^ John Mather most likely painted On the Upper Yarra near Rourke’s Bridge where the old route from Lilydale to Healesville crossed the Yarra River. The Maxwell's Road bridge now stands nearby in its place.
Looking north east from this bridge - the river, vegetation, the distant view of a mountain or hill, the colours and tones of the scene are still remarkedly similar to that rendered by the artist in 1885.[91]
Historic photographs of Rourke's Bridge circa 1875-85 confirm the riverscape and vegetation depicted in the painting.[92][93]
The title of the painting, or its location, is partly hand written on the reverse of the watercolour backing mount and reads On the U or On the Y. The remainder of the title has been lost when the original back mount of the water colour was trimmed.[94]
The painting is illustrative of the subject matter he painted at this time and also rendered in his other works. An 1885 description of A Peep at the Upper Yarra, where it brawls over boulders and gurgles under mossy tree trunks that span the stream with their prostrate forms is a lovely study of forest and river could apply to this work but there are other paintings of similar composition.[95]
- ^ In 1889, at the age of 22, Streeton painted a view of the Kilcunda coastline,[106] likely coinciding with a trip to Kilcunda with Mather and Paterson that he later recalled.[107] Possibly over the same summer of 1888/89, Mather painted 'Blue Bay Kilcunda' dated 1888.[108]
- ^ In 1906 John Mather nominated a number paintings, varied in style and subject matter, as his favourites in the National Gallery. Emphasising that he believed there was no orthodox creed in art, and no absolute rule for a good painting. He pointed to the tension between the need for an artist to develop a style or manner, and when successful an artist becoming trapped by that effort. John Mather nominated as his favourite paintings: • Peter Graham 1869 Autumnal Showers[1] • John Macallan Swan 1891 African Panthers • August Friedrich Schenck 1878 Anguish • William Quiller Orchardson 1887 The First Cloud • John Pettie 1866 Arrest for Witchcraft • Camille Pissarro 1897 Boulevard Montmartre • J.M.W Turner c.1826 Okehampton Castle [111] All of these paintings are illustrated, amongst others, in the 1908 Illustrated Catalogue of the National Gallery of Victoria printed and published for the Trustees of the Public Library, Museums and National Gallery of Victoria.[112] In 1906 he considered Boulevard Montmartre. by Pissarro to be the best painting purchased through the Felton Bequest, both for its artistic rendering of a very difficult subject, and for its remarkable truth to nature. He described it as a splendid example of the French School of Impressionist at its best.[113] He hoped the work would encourage artists and citizens in Melbourne to see the beauty of their own streets and goes on to state: The subject itself is not finer than many of our Melbourne streets; it only requires the artist; the life, movement, and interest are just as intense here as in Paris. The summer is longer here; the sunlight is brighter; the sky more blue, but the patron is conspicuous by his absence.[114]
- ^ Other artists described as exhibiting included: Mr. E. Fraser, Mr. W. H. Withers, Mr. Llewelyn Jones, Mr. Robertson Gow, Mr. G. P. Morrison, Mr. Julian Gibbs, Mr. J. W. Curtis, Mr. J. A. Turner, Mr. James Murray, Mr. E. A'Beckett, Signor Ugo Catani, Miss Alice Chapman, Miss F. Fuller, Miss Walker, Mr. W. Barratt, Mr. Julian Ashton, Mr. George Ashton, Mr. C. W. Foster, Mrs. George Parsons, Mr. James Robertson, Mr. G. H. Taylor, Mr. Robert Gow, Mrs. F. C. Rowan, Mr. Fraser, Mr. Malcolm Campbell, Mr. Louis Abraham, Mrs. Roth, Mr. R. Kretschmann, Mr. J. S. Wilson, Mr. Carl Kahler, Mr. J. R. Ashton, Mr. Percival Ball, [123][124]
- ^ This is the first etching exhibited in an art society's exhibition in Australia.[125] Etching, after J. Mather. L. Abrahams is listed in the catalogue of the First Annual Exhibition of the Australian Artists' Association held in September 1886 at the Buxton Gallery. The etching illustrates an 1880 painting by John Mather and provides an insight into his work of that time. The etching demonstrates the professional and personal relationships between the artists that formed Australian Artists' Association. Further highlighted by a painting titled Maggie Mather, John Mather's daughter, exhibited by Louis Abrahams in the 1887 Winter Exhibition of the Australian Artists' Association. Also the 1887 painting by John Mather of The artist (Louis Abrahams) at his easel.
- ^
John Mather painted Gathering Seaweed in 1897 when he was residing at Wellington Street, Brighton.
The water colour was probably exhibited as Gathering Sea-Weeds in 1900 at the Twenty-First Annual Exhibition of the Royal Art Society of New South Wales.[146]
The title Gathering Sea-Weeds is uncommon for John Mather compared to the titles of his other paintings, with only one other similar title,Carting Seaweed dated 1884.[147]
In 2024 the painting was sold at auction in Selbourne United Kingdom with the title Gathering Seaweed.[148] The backing of the watercolour has Brighton Beach written on the reverse [149] likely its location rather than its exhibition title, given the subject matter of the painting.
The watercolour depicts a person with horse and cart gathering seaweed from the beach at Holloway Bend, Brighton Beach looking towards Green Point. The painting provides a historical view of Green Point prior to the construction of coastal protection works.[150]
Contemporary reports and art critics note that John Mather is known for the accurate depiction of the view before him. Old photographs prior to the coastal protection works at Green Point and Holloway Bend confirm the aspect of the cliff illustrated in the painting, the detail of signs and posts, the disposition of the beach, reserve fencing and coast line. Later aerial photographs show a bluestone seawall under construction in the 1930’s. Subsequent filling and later rock batters have extended the point seawards.
The gathering of seaweed is documented in the Diaries of Mrs Thomas Anne Ward Cole of St Ninians Brighton (1867 - 1882) in which she notes that men at work on the St Ninian estate; were carting sea-weed to the paddocks and ploughing it in.[151] Two years before the date of the watercolour, in January 1895, The Argus also confirms the practice of carting away seaweed stating: The late storms have lodged large quantities of jelly like seaweed on the beach and this while decaying is of course unpleasant whether one finds it at Brighton or at Lorne. The council has done the best it can probably in this matter by inviting market gardeners to cart away the weed for manure, and no doubt it would be a first-rate fertiliser.[152]
The paintings passage to the United Kingdom is unclear however John Mather himself offers some potential insights. When interviewed in 1913, John Mather remarked: Though I have never sent any pictures home numbers have found their way to the Old World through visitors purchasing them here. Sir Hartley Williams, one of the late judges of Victoria, took quite a collection of my watercolours with him to England and on a return visit he secured many more. On reaching England again he held a reception, and I am told that there was quite a buzz over Mather’s watercolours.[153]
The painting, whether brought back by visitors returning to Europe, part of a collection when resettling to England or some other route is representative of the national and international art market of the turn of the 19th Century.
- ^
The Model was painted by John Mather on 21 August 1897.
On the reverse of the watercolour is written 51 The Model, while the frame and backing board bear No. 51 The Old Pensioner.
Contemporary reviews describe the painting as:
- “The sketch of a patriarch, probably Methuselah, is an abler portrayal than the snapshot of a lady in the kimono.” [189]
- “Two portraits, one the fine head of a well-known model that might have been ‘General Booth’ in his younger days.” [190]
- “A study of an old man is very good, and shows that water-colour in portraiture has some value.” [191]
The painting was among Mather’s most frequently exhibited works. It was exhibited in 1904 in the Exhibition of Australian Landscapes by John Mather as The Model,[192] and was shown in 1912 at the Exhibition of Mr J. Mather’s Paintings, as Lot 23 or 30.[193]
Although no catalogue survives for the 1916 Exhibition of the Late John Mather’s Paintings,[194] the contemporary press description above and the annotations on the watercolour's reverse, frame and backing board strongly suggest the work was included. The presence of 51 The Model on the watercolour, later altered to No. 51 The Old Pensioner on the frame and backing board, indicates this change likely occurred after 1912. As the number does not correspond with known lots from 1904 or 1912, it is most plausibly the 1916 exhibition number.
In 1919, the work appeared at auction under its later title, The Old Pensioner, in the sale of the Mather collection conducted by Arthur Tuckett & Son,[195] confirming the shift in how the painting was identified.
Beyond its exhibition history, the subject of the painting resonates with a contemporary account of an artist’s model in Melbourne. Possibly the same man portrayed by Mather, or if not, certainly more broadly illustrative of the kinds of models artists engaged than those typically discussed in historical studio descriptions. Directly from the model himself:
“I don’t do many posin’s now. No - no. So many of the artists have emigrated - There’s not many of the old ones about now.” The speaker was “Old B – a model not unknown in studio land here; and; the place was a weatherboard weatherbeaten old tenement, in an obscure lane in a crowded corner on Collingwood Flat.
“Once I used to get a note to come to a studio every day.” he continued. “Why, I’ve made more than £2 a week sometimes - Yes,” and he paused to allow for the full effect of this startling assertion.
“You have sat for a lot of students and artists?”
“Oh, yes; at the National Gallery, the Victorian Artists, and a lot of the studios. Mr. Fox was the first one to engage me; it was through an advertisement: ‘Wanted, an elderly man for a model.’ I was out looking for a job at plasterin’ in the same day, but I called round to see about this other billet; and - got it.”
“You were in demand after that?”
“Oh, yes - yes. I used to sit – mornin’ afternoon, and night - they was always wantin’ me.”
“And what sort of characters did you pose for?”
“Oh, all sorts. A sundowner, a bull sticker, a sculptor with a mallet in me’ and like this” and here he suited the action to the word; a carpenter, a Venetian on a ‘gondoleer,’ and I don’t know what. In London I used to pose for the caricaturists on the comic papers. Some of these posins’ were peculiar. Once I ‘ad to be an acrobat, and suspend from a trapeze with me ‘ead ‘anging down.”
“I should think that the occupation of model was not altogether healthy, then?”
“No - it ain’t, not by any stretch of the imagination. The circulation is impeded, and occasionally some of the attitudes you have to make give you the cramps. Then your eyesight gets affected. When I’m fixed up to suit an artist, I look out for a certain object, and keep my eyes fixed on it alone. But if it’s a room with glass and lots of sunlight coming in, you have to stare so hard, you stare yourself to sleep. Coming out of a warm room into the cold air, too, engenders chills, which induces colds; and, in the summer, the flies annoy you.”
“What do models think about all the time they’re posing?”
“From the gist of what I’ve heard in company with them, their thoughts are various. Some wonder if they can get a sub.[sic] for a long beer; others wish for the time to come when they can have a smoke; and others, again, wish that the first pose was the last. For myself, being a bibliophilist. I am generally analysing what I have been reading, and so drawing inferences. At odd times I think about my grandchildren.” [196][197]
Later writings expand: “They call him old Tom Bowling, after one of his songs. Besides picking up a living as a street musician, he gets a few shillings as an artist’s model.”[198]
The frame itself adds another layer of significance. The bespoke wooden construction and rough-textured coloured frieze reflect Mather’s emerging interest in innovative framing.
This interest was noted in 1899: “A new departure in the matter of picture frame designing has been made by Mr. J. Mather. The frame is constructed of glass set in Mosaic design, the colors being carefully arranged to harmonize with the picture inclosed. The idea, should it prove practicable from a monetary point of view, is likely to be largely adopted.”[199]
The frame also has other handwritten notes: Wattle gold, and River's gleam and, J. Mather, 117 Collins St, Melbourne. Wattle Gold and River Gleam was exhibited in Mather’s studio in 1903, and compared to other works, its impact was described as with more obvious beauty take captive the eye, and fling back with triumphant shout the accusation of "melancholy," so often brought against the Australian landscape.[200] This may indicate Mather's reuse of frames for various works.
The painting is significant because it is uncharacteristic of Mather’s body of work and consequently demonstrates his broad technical ability as an artist. Uniquely, with contemporary accounts, the work illuminates the life of an older male model engaged in irregular work, earning a living from modelling. The work also documents Mather’s involvement with evolving display practices through its distinctive frame, making it important both as an image and as a material object.
- ^ The photograph of the artist’s camp depicts three of Mather's partially completed paintings: one on an easel and two leaning against the tent. When finished one of the works titled Honeysuckles, Cape Woolamai is later exhibited and illustrated in the Victorian Artists’ Society 16th Annual Exhibition Catalogue, October 1911.[236] The other paintings in the photograph also have subjects and compositions similar to Mather's known paintings from Cape Woolamai.
Cape Woolamai was a frequent subject for John Mather, who produced more than a dozen oil paintings, watercolours, and drawings of the area under titles including Cape Woollamai Phillip Island, [237] Cape Wollamai, [238] and Cape Woollomai. [239]
The spelling Cape Wollamai was recorded by George Bass in 1802 and later evolved into the modern form, Cape Woolamai.[240] Most of the works depicting Cape Woolamai date from 1885–86, 1898, 1903–04, and 1911-12 corresponding with periods when Mather camped at Cape Woolamai and San Remo.
The date for the photograph of Mather’s camp is supported by signed works including Near Cape Wollamai, 1903[241]Blue and Gold, 1903 [242] and Cape Wollamai, Phillip Island, 1904[243],
Jessie Traill’s autograph book (1900–1911) and 1903 Sketchbook also supports dating the artist’s camp photograph to circa 1903–04. The autograph book contains a grouping of material from around 1902–04, including the camp photograph, reproductions of Mather’s artworks, sketches by Mather, and a beach scene by Dora Smith dated 1904.[244] Traill’s sketchbook records that she undertook etching lessons with Mather in 1903.[245]
- ^ Jessie Traill took lessons in etching from John Mather at his Austral Art School. In 1903 she kept a notebook of her lessons commenting on the etchings within it as they progress through various states. The notebook details her active engagement in the print making process and the tuition of John Mather. Together with jottings of sales, news clippings and a congratulatory letter from John Mather, her early success with the medium is documented. Jessie Traill's 1903 notebook[248] reveals in intimate detail her lessons with John Mather. For example, the notes on an etching that Jessie Traill considered a failure: Ground marked twice lines far too open & apart no mysterious depths drawing shaky, confused & altogether a failure, Mr Mather could not tell which way up. Mounted at 90 degrees from her notes and without visual cues, the correct orientation of the etching is difficult to determine. Later in the etching, Boat Builder's Shop, she includes some common place items in the foreground that leave no doubt as to the orientation of that etching. Boat Builder's Shop was exhibited in Melbourne, Adelaide and Launceston in 1905. The etching was praised in reviews and sold for 15/0. John Mather sent her a congratulatory letter which Jessie mounts in the notebook together with news clippings of the day.
- ^ In 1886 and 1887 Abrahams, Roberts and Robert F. Gow exhibited etchings with the Australian Artists’ Association.[264][265][266] Abrahams’s 1886 “Etching after John Mather,”[267] together with Mather’s c.1886 etched portrait of Abrahams, indicates their close association during this formative period.
- ^ An early landscape etching, Evening, Dandenong (1893),[269] together with several of Mather’s other etchings, were observed to display the same sound drawing and tonal values as his paintings, with an increased sense of charm, particularly in simpler compositions. In 1894, he was noted as printing his own plates, regarded as a delicate and important process.[270]
- ^ Later historical sources record that Mather imported a professional printing press and etching equipment from London for the production of his prints.[271][272] The technical quality of works such as Brander’s Ferry, dated December 1894, indicates that the press was in operation by that time.
- ^ Bathing Place on the Watts depicts a popular swimming hole on the Watts River at Healesville that existed around 1895.
By 1898 the swimming hole was in need of urgent repair. The local newspaper comments; some actions should be taken towards placing the old swimming hole in a more desirable state for the use of swimmers during the approaching hot months. …the inflow of silt has gradually accumulated, … the hole at the present time can be compared only to a large sand bank. A large tree has also fallen across the water and the planking erected at one time has been destroyed. … a good serviceable fence encloses this quarter … [273]
Of particular note is the reference to planking that has been erected. John Mather’s etching depicts a small jetty constructed of timber planks.
The present day Watts River, in particular the form of the river banks and the vegetation, resemble that depicted in John Mather’s etching. There are also water holes still used for bathing as evidenced by towels hanging on trees, however not as inviting as that depicted by John Mather.[274]
This etching was also exhibited as The Bath, Healesville (1904),[275] The Bath (1913)[276] and The Bathers (1919).[277]
Later scholars have commented that his early etchings show a poetic sensibility derived from the Barbizon School of etching. ‘The bath, Healesville’ c.1895 with its synthesis of man and nature is one of his most appealing works.[278]
The plate mark of Bathing-place on the Watts is the same size as that of Brander’s Ferry dated 12.94,[279] suggesting contemporary production.
There are five known examples of the etching held in:
• National Gallery of Australia
• National Library of New Zealand
• Art Gallery of New South Wales
• Art Gallery of Ballarat
• Private Collection, Melbourne, Australia
- ^ Contemporary art magazines commented that: Among professional artists there is only one etcher in Melbourne - Mr. Mather, the President of the Victorian Academy of Arts; but he has many pupils, and these, with amateurs and a large picture-public, have thronged the galleries daily; so that this pioneer undertaking will bear good fruit in taste, knowledge, and emulation.[285]
- ^ Morning San Remo is an oil painting on canvas signed and dated J.Mather.1.1900. in a precise hand. The Thallon picture frame with characteristic laurel and berry motif [304] and a W & G. Dean label, is most likely the original exhibition frame. Reflecting its age, the frame is in need of restoration with the least damaged area illustrated here. A small cloth tag attached to the reverse of the frame has San Remo hand written in brown ink. This is not illustrated to prevent modern reproduction. The view is recognisable as looking east from San Remo Beach towards the Strzelecki Ranges.[305]
In recent years the painting has been auctioned under the nominal title ‘Lake Scene’, however the view is clearly of a tidal water body and not a lake.
The painting was exhibited as Lot 58 Morning San Remo J. Mather £21 0 0 in the Victorian Artists Society Annual Exhibition November 1900.
Contemporary newspaper articles describe the painting:
The principal work shown by the President, Mr John Mather, is Morning, San Remo, an oil colour, different in choice of subject and treatment from his usual work. The morning mist rising from the sea is well rendered, a fishing boat is seen pushing off for the day’s work.[306]
Morning at San Remo, by Mr Mather, is a good realisation of the delicate luminous grey of early morning. The tranquil waters of the inlet reflect the clouds and light overhead, and the suggestion of the atmosphere which seems to rise like the faintest of veils from the surface of the water, is charming. [307]
The effect of the pearly grey softness of his “Morning at San Remo” is spoilt by the treatment of the rocky foreground.[308]
There is not nearly so much in the way of landscapes to be seen this time, and of seascapes there are but few, but there is one by J. Mather of " Morning, San Remo," which makes one feel in love with the time, the place, the artist and all, it is so dreamily fresh and fair.[309]
Similar views, albeit with a lower tide, are illustrated in a water colour signed by John Mather and dated 1902 in the collection of the Geelong Gallery titled Passing Showers. and in an unsigned oil on board attributed to John Mather nominally titled ‘Rowboat on Shore’, with Badger and Fox Gallery, Sydney.[310]
In December 2022 Morning San Remo 1900 by John Mather was in the care of a private collector.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Judy Blyth, John (1848? - 1916), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, 1986, pp 438-439. Retrieved 2010-04-01
- ^ a b Loch Long Passenger List 8 October 1877
- ^ a b c The Argus 9 Dec 1878 p.5 MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1878.
- ^ a b State Library of Victoria Collection, Various original and copies of Exhibition Catalogues accessed 16 Apr 2024, 7 May 2024, 17 May 2024, 18 May 2024, and 25 Jun 2024. National Gallery of Australia Online record accessed 22 May 2024.
- ^ a b She-Oak and Sunlight Australian Impressionism Exhibition Art Work Labels
- ^ Table Talk Fri 2 Nov 1888 Page 3 Table Talk.
- ^ The Age 20 Mar 1885 Page 6 ART NOTES.
- ^ The Age 24 Apr 1885 p 6 Art Notes
- ^ The Age 6 June 1885 Page 15 ART NOTES.
- ^ The Age 3 Jun 1886 p.7 THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF AUSTRALIAN ART.
- ^ The Argus 2 Jun 1886 p.7 PROPOSED EXHIBITION OF WORK BY AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS.
- ^ The Argus 7 Sep 1886 Page 7 Exhibition of the Australian Artists' Association
- ^ The Age Wed 8 Sep 1886 Page 6 The Australian Artists' Association
- ^ a b c d Minute Book of the Australian Artists Association, 1886-1888
- ^ The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser 18 Sep 1886 p.579 Gossip
- ^ a b McGrath J. Oct 1974 The Australian Art Association 1912 - 1933 against the social background of the period, p.1 Advanced Librarianship Special Study, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in the State Library of Victoria Collection RA.2022.57 Box 1/2
- ^ a b The Argus 14 Mar 1888 Page 5 VICTORIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS
- ^ a b Christesen C.B. (Editor) 1970 The Gallery on the Eastern Hill The Victorian Artist Society Centenary
- ^ a b The Age 5 Nov 1932 p. 4 AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS OF THE PAST
- ^ a b Topliss H. 1992 The Artist's Camps 'Plein Air Painting in Australia p.23
- ^ a b The Age 5 Nov 1932 p4. Australian Artists of the Past
- ^ a b The Argus 28 Sep 1929 Memories of Mather A PAINTER OF SUNSHINE p.5
- ^ a b Site Visit 18 Aug 2022
- ^ Site Inspection 5 Aug 2023
- ^ Commission for plaque 5 Aug 2023
- ^ Table Talk 2 Nov 1888 p.3
- ^ a b c The Mail 13 Sep 1913 p.1, A Lifetime of Art
- ^ Glasgow Life/ Collections/ Art and Design https://libcat.csglasgow.org/web/arena/art-and-design-subject accessed 20 May 2024
- ^ LH Genealogy Thomas Fairbairn at http://fairbairn.lornahen.com/p67356.htm accessed 12 Jan 2025.
- ^ Electric Scotland Art in Scotland accessed 12 Jan 2025
- ^ a b Weekly Times 8 Aug 1908 Page 12 The Artists’ President
- ^ a b c d e f Billcliffe, Roger & Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (1992). The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1861-1989 : a dictionary of exhibitors at the annual exhibitions of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. Vol. 3 L- P Woodend Press, Glasgow p.198 in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia Research Library and Archives pers comm 13 Jun 2025.
- ^ Billcliffe, Roger & Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (1992). The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1861-1989 : A Dictionary of Exhibitors at the Annual Exhibitions of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. Vol. 3 L- P Woodend Press, Glasgow p.198 in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia Research Library and Archives
- ^ a b c The Register 9 Sep 1913 p. 10, Art and an Artist
- ^ a b c d e f Viles M., Soden J. & Stott P., Baille de Laperriere C.(ed), 1991, The Royal Scottish Academy Exhibitors 1826-1990, A Dictionary of Artists and their Work in the Annual Exhibitions of The Royal Scottish Academy Vol 3 L-Q, p.246, in the collection of the Biblioteca di Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte Rome
- ^ Viles M., Soden J. & Stott P. Baille de Laperriere C.(ed) 1991 in The Royal Scottish Academy Exhibitors 1826-1990, A Dictionary of Artists and their Work in the Annual Exhibitions of The Royal Scottish Academy Vol 3 L-Q
- ^ Loch Long Passenger List 8 October 1877
- ^ John Mather 1878 Melbourne from Prospect Hill, National Gallery of Victoria, Collection Online accessed 16 Jan 2026 at https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/5910/
- ^ Inspection of Pioneer Cottages watercolour 10 Jan 2025 and other works at various dates including Invaluable Past Sales Search accessed 8 Feb 2025.
- ^ Google Ngram Viewer and Trove with search of word – pioneer indicates that the use of the word became increasingly popular from the late 1870's to 1890's and peaked in the 1920's. Accessed 15 Jan 2026 at https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pioneer&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3 and https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/category/newspapers?keyword=pioneer
- ^ Victorian Academy of Arts, 1879 to 1887, Catalogues of Annual Exhibition, Australian Artists Association, 1886 and 1887, Exhibition Catalogue, Victorian Artists' Society, 1890 to 1911 (other than in 1902 and 1903), Catalogue of Annual Exhibition, Australian Art Association Exhibition Catalogues 1913 to 1916, Art Society of NSW catalogue summary from Art Index DxLab – State Library of NSW accessed 31 May 2024 (Note John Mather is incorrectly referred to as "James" Mather).
- ^ Dictionaries of the Scots Language. At https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bit_n1_adj accessed 31 Aug 2025. Meanings for ‘Bit’ including situation, place of residence or employment. Noting it was more common in mid and south Scotland than in north Scotland. Wiktionary Free Dictionary Appendix on the Scottish language. In Scottish a 'Bit' means a place; usually referring to somebody's house. At https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_Scottish_slang_and_jargon accessed 31 Aug 2025
- ^ Billcliffe, Roger & Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (1992). The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1861-1989 : a dictionary of exhibitors at the annual exhibitions of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. Vol. 3 L- P Woodend Press, Glasgow p.198 in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia Research Library and Archives pers comm 13 Jun 2025.
- ^ Weekly Times 8 Aug 1908 Page 12 The Artists’ President
- ^ Weekly Times 8 Aug 1908 Page 12 The Artists’ President
- ^ The Register, Adelaide, 9 September 1913, “Art and an Artist”
- ^ Victorian Academy of Arts, 1879, The Ninth Exhibition Catalogue.
- ^ Victorian Academy of Arts, 1880, The Tenth Exhibition Catalogue
- ^ The Age 20 Mar 1885 P. 6, ART NOTES, The Age 24 Apr 1885 P. 6, ART NOTES, and The Age 6 June 1885 P. 15, ART NOTES.
- ^ Inspection of John Mather’s work and reproductions at various dates including Invaluable Past Sales Search accessed 8 Feb 2025.
- ^ Harvey, J. H. 1875, Rustic Cottage, Healesville [picture] in State Library of Victoria Collection Accessed at https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/44963 on 7 June 2025
- ^ Kruger, F. 1878, "Road to Healesville" "Stopping for a chat" Photograph Victorian Collections.
- ^ Kruger, F. 1878, (photographer. (attributed) Scenes around Healesville, Victoria. State Library of Victoria Collection at https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/192794612 Accessed on 7 June 2025
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- ^ Site Visit 30 Mar 2024
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- ^ a b c William Moore 1934 The Story of Australian Art from the Earliest Known Art of the Continent to the Art of To-Day Vol. 1 Chapter 2 The Camps Round Melbourne p. 70
- ^ The Advertiser 30 Aug 1937 p.18 AUSTRALIA'S ART PIONEERS
- ^ Moore W. 1934 The Story of Australian Art from the Earliest Known Art of the Continent to the Art of To-Day Vol. 1 Chapter 2 The Camps Round Melbourne p. 76
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- ^ William Moore 1906 Studio Sketches Glimpses of Melbourne Studio Life, My Favourite Gallery Pictures The View of the Artist, P.13 - 14.
- ^ William Moore 1906 Studio Sketches Glimpses of Melbourne Studio Life, My Favourite Gallery Pictures The View of the Artist, P.13 - 14.
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- ^ William Moore 1906 Studio Sketches Glimpses of Melbourne Studio Life, My Favourite Gallery Pictures The View of the Artist, P.13 - 14.
- ^ William Moore 1906 Studio Sketches Glimpses of Melbourne Studio Life, My Favourite Gallery Pictures The View of the Artist, P.13 - 14.
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- ^ The Australasian 13 Jun 1885 p.7 NEW ART PREMISES.
- ^ The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil 21 Oct 1885 p.163 Sketches Pencil
- ^ The Age 3 Jun 1886 p.7 THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF AUSTRALIAN ART.
- ^ The Argus 2 Jun 1886 p.7 PROPOSED EXHIBITION OF WORK BY AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS.
- ^ The Daily Telegraph Wed 8 Sep 1886 p.5 THE ARTISTS' ASSOCIATION EXHIBITION.
- ^ The Argus 7 Sep 1886 Page 7 Exhibition of the Australian Artists' Association
- ^ The Age Wed 8 Sep 1886 Page 6 The Australian Artists' Association
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- ^ The Argus 4 May 1880 p.1 Political Summary
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- ^ Serle, Percival (1949). "Mather, John". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j McCulloch, Alan; McCulloch, Susan; McCulloch Childs, Emily (2006). The new McCulloch's encyclopedia of Australian art (4th ed.). Fitzroy: AUS Art Editions; The Miegunyah Press. p. 667. ISBN 0-522-85317-X. OCLC 80568976.
- ^ Mead, Stephen F. (December 2011). "The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887". The Latrobe Journal. 88.
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- ^ The Ballarat Courier 13 Jun 1884 p.4 BALLARAT FINE ART EXHIBITION.
- ^ The Ballarat Star 13 Jun 1884 p. 2 THE FINE ARTS EXHIBITION IN BALLARAT.
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- ^ Art Society of NSW catalogue summary from Art Index DxLab – State Library of NSW accessed 31 May 2024 (Note John Mather is incorrectly referred to as "James" Mather).
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- ^ Invaluable Past Sales Search accessed 8 Feb 2025.
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- ^ Referenced in Bates W. 1983 2nd Ed. A History of Brighton p.337
- ^ The Argus 21 Jan 1895 Page 5 IS BRIGHTON INSANITARY
- ^ The Mail, 13 Sep 1913 p.1 A Lifetime of Art.
- ^ Art Society of NSW catalogue summary from Art Index DxLab – State Library of NSW accessed 31 May 2024 (Note John Mather is incorrectly referred to as "James" Mather)
- ^ The Mercury 17 Jan 1911 p8, Water Colour Paintings Trowbridge Bros, Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Exhibition of John Mather’s Water Colours
- ^ The Advertiser p.23 ART EXHIBITION Wed 10 Sep 1913 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5800792?searchTerm=Mather%20Paintings. The Register 11 Sep 1913 p.7 EXHIBITION OF MR. J. MATHER'S PAINTINGS https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59111151?searchTerm=Mather%20Paintings, The Mail 13 Sep 1913 p.3 PAINTINGS AND ETCHINGS https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63805634?searchTerm=Mather%20Paintings#
- ^ The Sydney Morning Herald 15 Jul 1895 p. 7 Country News, National Advocate 3 Jul 1895 p.2 Pictures for Country Towns, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser 6 July 1895 p. 43 Provincial Art Loan Exhibition
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- ^ The Argus 20 Aug 1881 p.10 Advertising
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- ^ Table Talk 26 Mar 1891Mr. John Mather p.12
- ^ William Moore 1906 Studio Sketches Glimpses of Melbourne Studio Life, Art and Music, Study of a Model, p.56 – 58
- ^ William Moore 1906 Studio Sketches Glimpses of Melbourne Studio Life, Art and Music, Study of a Model, p.56 – 58
- ^ The Bulletin, vol. 33, no. 1703 (3 October 1912), p. 13, An Art Note from Melbourne.
- ^ The Argus (Melbourne), Thursday, 26 September 1912, p. 9, Mr. Mather’s Pictures.
- ^ Punch (Melbourne), Thursday, 7 September 1916, p. 25, Exhibition of the Late J. Mather’s Paintings.
- ^ Catalogue of Exhibition of Australian Landscapes by John Mather, Oct 1904 The Model. Lot 12 watercolour £7 7 0
- ^ Exhibition of Mr J. Mather's Paintings 26 September 1912 Catalogue as The Model, Lot 23 or The Model, Lot 30, both £10 10 0
- ^ Punch Thu 7 Sep 1916 Page 25 EXHIBITION OF THE LATE J. MATHER'S PAINTINGS.
- ^ Arthur Tuckett & Son 1919, Auction sale of the Mather collection of oil paintings and water color drawings: Under instructions from the Executors of the Late J. Mather. Catalogue Lot 103 The Old Pensioner, Watercolour.
- ^ The Colac Herald, 17 July 1903, p. 8, Walks of Life: The Painter and the Poser, Meditations of a Model
- ^ West Gippsland Gazette, 28 Jul 1903, p. 6, Walks of Life: The Painter and the Poser, Meditations of a Model.
- ^ William Moore 1906 Studio Sketches Glimpses of Melbourne Studio Life, Art and Music, Study of a Model, p.56 – 58
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- ^ a b Sands and McDougall's Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1885
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- ^ Evening Journal, Latest News, 13 Dec 1886 p.2 notes Mr J. Mather of Healesville and Collins Street East, Melbourne
- ^ The Age 31 Mar 1888 Country Sketches p.4 refers to John Mather having studio but does not mention a residence
- ^ a b Table Talk 2 Nov 1888 p.3 notes John Mather has had a studio at Healesville for some years and is now building a residence.
- ^ Prahran City Council Rates Records 1885 -1888
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- ^ Leader 10 Mar 1894 Fine Arts Amongst the Country Studios p. 32
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- ^ Victorian Artists Society Exhibition Catalogues 1900, 1901 & 1902, The Argus 5 Oct 1901, Advertisements p. 14
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- ^ The Bulletin, Vol.33 No.1668 1 Feb 1912 p.22 Melbourne Chatter
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- ^ Victorian Academy of Arts Sept 1886 Exhibition Catalogue Cat No. 75 watercolour possibly size 50 x 36 illustrated.
- ^ Official Catalogue of Greater Britain Exhibition Earls Court, London, 1899, Catalogue of Exhibits in the Victorian Court, John Mather Austral Chambers Melbourne Cape Wollamai Price £31.10s p. 129 .
- ^ Exhibition of Mr J. Mather’s Paintings, September 1912, Athenaeum Cat. 83 Unknown media £10 10 0
- ^ Flinders, Matthew, A Voyage to Terra Australis, vol. 1, London, 1814; entry for 3 May 1802.
- ^ Leonard Joel Australian Paintings, Melbourne, 3 Nov 1982 and later years at subsequent auctions. Signed and dated 03, 44.5 x 74.5 Illustrated in Art Sales Australia & New Zealand Digest
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- ^ Catalogue of Exhibition of Australian Landscapes by John Mather Oct 1904. Cat. No.38 Cape Wollamai, Phillip Island Oil Painting Price: £30 0 0
- ^ Traill, Jessie et al., Autograph Book, 1900–1911, State Library of Victoria.
- ^ Traill, Jessie, Copper Plate Etchings and Notes Thereon, 1903, Jessie Traill Papers, State Library of Victoria, MS 7975.
- ^ The Age, 1 Jun 1901 Page 8 ART NOTES.
- ^ Jo Oliver, 2020, Jessie Traill A Biography, pp 29-30
- ^ Jessie Traill (1903) 'Copper Plate Etchings and Notes thereon, J.C.A. Traill 1903'. Jessie Traill Papers, State Library of Victoria, Ms 7975, Box F798/5 (b)
- ^ The Argus 28 Sep 1929 p5, Memories of Mather
- ^ adb.anu.edu.au Accessed 29 Apr2024
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- ^ a b The Mail 13 Sept 1913 p1, A Lifetime of Art
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- ^ The Herald (Melbourne) Mon 14 Dec 1931 Page 9 PERSONAL
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- ^ Site inspection 30 Mar 2024
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- ^ Roger Butler, Printed Images by Australian Artists 1885–1955, National Gallery of Australia, 2007, pp.18–19.
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- ^ Site Inspection and commission for plaque 5 Aug 2023
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