Arthur Streeton b. 1867 Mount Duneed, Geelong, Vic.

Also known as Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton
  • Artist (Draughtsman), (Printmaker), (Painter)
A member of the Heidelberg School and part of the famous '9 x 5' Impressions Exhibition in Melbourne, Arthur Streeton spent a number of years abroad, including a stint as an official war artist, before returning to Australia in 1920, where his sunny, pastoral landscapes were appropriated in the cause of a conservative nationalism.
Talk | Version history | Updated Dec. 26, 2011 | Created Jan. 1, 2006
Name
Arthur Streeton
Also known as Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton
Birth date
8 April 1867
Birth place
Mount Duneed, Geelong, Vic.
Death date
1 September 1943
Death place
Olinda, Vic.
Gender
Male
Roles
  • Artist (Draughtsman)
  • Artist (Printmaker)
  • Artist (Painter)
Residence
  • 1938- 1943 Olinda, Vic.
  • 1920- 1938 Melbourne, Vic.
  • 1897- 1920 England, UK
  • 1867- 1890 Victoria
  • 1890- 1896 Sydney, NSW
Other Occupation
  • Hospital orderly
  • Art critic
  • War artist
Active Period
  • c.1882- c.1940
Languages
  • English
Training
  • 1882- 1887 National Gallery School, Melbourne, Vic.
Is Indigenous
No

Arthur Streeton was born on 8 April 1867 at Mount Duneed, Geelong, Victoria, the son of a schoolteacher. He took night classes at the National Gallery School, Melbourne, from 1882-87 and for two years during that time he worked as an apprentice lithographer with George Troedel & Co., Melbourne.

In the summer of 1886 Streeton met Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin, and subsequently joined their painting camps around Heidelberg and Box Hill, on the outskirts of Melbourne, where they were joined by Charles Conder . Streeton exhibited about forty small plein air paintings in the ’9 × 5 Impressions’ exhibition of 1889. He moved to Sydney in 1890, where he became known for his lyric views of the area around Sydney Harbour and heroic landscapes of the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury River.

In 1897, Streeton left for England, breaking his journey with a stay in Cairo and Naples. While living in London he visited Italy and France and made several return trips to Australia. He admired the landscapes of Constable and Turner, as well as those of Philip Wilson Steer.

During the First World War Streeton served as an orderly at the 3rd London General Hospital, Wandsworth, and was subsequently appointed an official war artist, working in France. He finally returned to Australia in 1923, where he painted sunny, pastoral landscapes – which were appropriated in the cause of a conservative nationalism. In 1929 he became art critic for Melbourne Argus . He campaigned to preserve native forests, and sought better urban planning for Melbourne. After his wife’s death in 1938, Streeton retired to Olinda where he devoted most of his time to his gardening and listening to music. He died on 1 September 1943 at Olinda, Victoria.

Writers:
Gray, Dr Anne
Date written:
2006
Last updated:
2011
associate of
George Lambert
1873
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Sir John Longstaff
1861
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Sir Bertram Mackennal
1863
Artist (Sculptor)
associate of
Charles Conder
1868
Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Printmaker), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter), Artist (Textile Artist / Fashion Designer)
associate of
Tom Roberts
1856
Artist (Photographer), Artist (Printmaker), Artist (Sculptor), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Rupert Bunny
1864
Artist
associate of
E. Phillips Fox
1865
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Florence Fuller
1867
Artist (Painter)
associate of
George Coates
1869
Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Frederick McCubbin
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
John Constable
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
J. M. W. Turner
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Philip Wilson Steer
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
George Troedel
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
C.R.W. Nevinson
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Francis Derwent Wood
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
spouse of
Nora Clench
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Louis Abrahams
1852
Artist (Painter)
associate of
H. Walter Barnett
1862
Artist (Photographer)
associate of
Mary Boyd
1926
Artist (Ceramist), Artist (Photographer), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Louis Buvelot
1814
Artist (Photographer), Artist (Painter), Artist (Printmaker)
associate of
Francis Thomas Deane Carrington
1843
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Ann Judith Fletcher
1886
Artist (Textile Artist / Fashion Designer), Artist (Photographer)
associate of
Clewin Harcourt
1870
Artist, Designer (Industrial / Product Designer)
associate of
Livingston Hopkins
1846
Artist (Painter), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Percy Leason
1889
Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Printmaker), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter), Artist (Industrial / Product Designer)
associate of
Lionel Lindsay
1874
Artist (Photographer), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Printmaker), Artist (Painter)
associate of
William Lister Lister
1859
Artist (Painter), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Arthur Jose De Souza Loureiro
1853
Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Gother Victor Fyers Mann
1863
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Frederick McCubbin
1855
Artist (Painter), Artist (Draughtsman)
associate of
Alice Mills
1870
Artist (Photographer)
associate of
Benjamin Edwin Minns
1863
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Josephine Muntz
1862
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Alice Jane Muskett
1869
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Elizabeth Parsons
1831
Artist (Printmaker), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Ada Plante
1875
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Leon Pole
1871
Artist (Industrial / Product Designer), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter)
associate of
James Quinn
1869
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Harry Raynor
1891
Artist (Painter), Artist (Draughtsman)
associate of
Florence Aline Rodway
1881
Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Painter)
associate of
David Henry Souter
1862
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Clara Southern
1860
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Percy Spence
1868
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Walter Brookes Spong
1851
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Charles Troedel
1835
Artist (Printmaker)
associate of
Tudor St. George Tucker
1862
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Frederic Villiers
1852
associate of
Alfred James Vincent
1874
Artist (Painter), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
friend of
Walter Withers
1854
Artist (Draughtsman), Artist (Painter), Artist (Printmaker), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Heidelberg School
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Chelsea Arts Club, England, UK
Artist
Bellicourt tunnel
Date
1919
URL
http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/ART12437
Sunlight (Cutting on a hot road) [Soft Sydney Sun; Sunlight]
Date
1895
URL
http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=47831
The spirit of the drought [Spirit of the Desert]
Date
1895
URL
http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=99918
(The valley of the Nepean)
Date
1892
URL
http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=40576
From McMahon's Point - fare one penny
Date
1890
URL
http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=81092
Golden summer, Eaglemont
Date
1889
URL
http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=61325
Collections
The Australian Landscape
1972- 1973
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
"The Australian Landscape" was a national touring exhibition organised by the Australian Gallery Directors' Council in 1972. The organising gallery was the Art Gallery of South Australia, and the curators were Daniel Thomas (Art Gallery of New South Wales) Ian North (Art Gallery of South Australia) and Frances McCarthy [later Lindsay] (National Gallery of Victoria). Generous funding from the Peter Stuyvesant foundation enabled the curators to travel the country together in order to make considered judgements. The exhibition opened at the Art Gallery of South Australia on 3 March 1972, and toured to the Western Australian Art Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Australian National Gallery (temporary premises), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Newcastle City Art Gallery, and the Queensland Art Gallery. The catalogue introduction claims that the exhibition comprised of 'fifty-five of the best Australian landscapes ever executed'. It was characterised by a breadth of vision, with works from every state – including regional galleries and private collections. It is distinguished by having a greater emphasis on colonial works than previous exhibitions, and elevating the reputation of Eugene Von Guerard and John Glover. There were only two works by women – Grace Cossington Smith and Margaret Preston– and none by any Aboriginal artist.
9 x 5 Impressions Exhibition
August 1889
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Buxton's Galleries, Swanston Street, Melbourne, Vic.
Citations:
  • Smith, Geoffrey, (1995), Arthur Streeton 1867-1943, (Place: Melbourne, Vic.: National Gallery of Victoria)
  • Eagle, Mary, (1994), The Oil Paintings of Arthur Streeton in the National Gallery of Australia, (Place: Canberra, ACT: National Gallery of Australia)
  • Wray, Christopher, (1993), Arthur Streeton: Painter of Light, (Place: Melbourne, Vic. : Jacaranda)
  • Galbally, Ann and Gray, Anne (eds), (1989), Letters from Smike: The Letters of Arthur Streeton 1890-1943, (Place: Melbourne, Vic. : Oxford University Press)
  • Galbally, Ann, (1969), Arthur Streeton, (Place: Melbourne, Vic. : Lansdowne, (revised 1979))
  • National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
  • Moore, William, (1934), The Story of Australian Art, (Place: Sydney, NSW : Angus & Robertson (2 vols, facsimile reprint 1980))
  • Thomas, D., North, I., & McCarthy F., (1972), The Australian Landscape, (Published by the Art Gallery of South Australia), Type: catalogue