GA011 | Australian & International Art

4
Property from
the Estate of
Charles Wheeler
Charles Arthur Wheeler was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in
1880 arriving in Melbourne in 1891. A portrait and landscape
painter he studied under Frederick McCubbin and L. Bernard
Hall at the National Gallery School, Melbourne.
In 1910 Wheeler held his first one-man show and the
National Art Gallery of New South Wales purchased his
painting, ‘The Portfolio’, while the National Gallery of Victoria
acquired ‘The Poem’. Wheeler exhibited with the Victorian
Artists’ Society in 1908-10 and with the Australian Art
Association in the 1920s and 1930s.
Travelling to London in 1914 he joined the Royal Fusiliers
and gained a Distinguished Conduct Medal for service
during World War I. Wheeler returned to Melbourne and
taught at the Gallery School becoming Drawing Master in
1935. He was later appointed Head of the Gallery School
in 1939 retiring in 1945. Wheeler won the Crouch Prize
in 1932 and the Archibald Prize in 1933 and 1934. He
is represented in the collection of the National Gallery
of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, Canberra,
Melbourne University and many Regional Galleries
including the Castlemaine Art Gallery.
He was a sensitive painter with knowledge, experience and a
well-developed craftsmanship. Firmly committed to classicist
modes of painting, he was especially well-known for his
studies of nudes.
Considered a thorough gentleman, he was much respected,
particularly at the Savage Club of which he was sometime
president. Charles Wheeler died on 26 October 1977 at the
age of 96 years.
All of the present art works have come from the family of
Dora Green (nee Wyatt) the artist’s niece and have never
been shown before now. One of the most interesting
aspects of the portrait of Dora Green (Dorrie) in this
collection is the inclusion of the actual pieces used in
the painting being the Chinese tea-set in the lower right
foreground and the Chinese silk outfit worn by her. The
works in this collection give a rare opportunity to acquire an
art work gifted by the artist to his niece.
1
CHARLES WHEELER (1880-1977)
Healesville
oil on board
signed lower right: C Wheeler
signed and titled verso: C Wheeler Healesville
29 x 39cm
PROVENANCE
The Estate of the late Charles Wheeler
$500–800
2
CHARLES WHEELER (1880-1977)
Bushland North Queensland
oil on board
signed lower right: C Wheeler
inscribed verso: BUSHLAND, N, QUEENSLAND
29 x 40cm
PROVENANCE
The Estate of the late Charles Wheeler
$400–600