Art for the People: Bendigo Art Gallery 1887 - 2013

WED Stuart
(born Great Britain
1826, arrived Australia
1859, died 1873)
Pall Mall from Bull
Street
c1860
oil on canvas
Gift of the Council of
the Sandhurst School
of Mines, 1887.
Collection Bendigo
Art Gallery
1887.1
picture … nothing can be more
shocking than this exhibition of the
picture of a nude woman. There
can be no question of prudery in
the presence of such a picture …
but that it should be tolerated in
a Christian city in the nineteenth
century is deplorable … I now
appeal to Christian people of all
denominations to do all in their
power to get this picture removed
before it is the cause of more sin
than it has already been the occasion
of … If nothing else can be done,
buy it by subscription and publicly
burn it. 30
then) as it appeared in 1860. Stuart
exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts
almost every year from 1846 to 1858,
his paintings were mostly of flowers
and fruit. Despite this international
recognition he struggled throughout
his career, even serving time in the
Sandhurst Gaol due to his inability to
repay debts. It is a popularly held belief
that his imprisonment could be the
reason the work was never completed.
An example of early colonial art, Pall
Mall from Bull Street is the only known
scene by Stuart to survive.
The breadth of stories associated
with the collection is astounding and
it is of course impossible to detail
them all here. Instead, a short focus
on a selection of people and artists
intimately linked to the Gallery is more
feasible; many famous names in the
art world have been associated with
Bendigo Art Gallery.
One such example is Arthur Thomas
Woodward, who was closely associated
with Bendigo Art Gallery and involved
in the formation of Bendigo Art
Gallery Society in 1920. ‘Woodward
was a generous supporter and member
of the Gallery Committee for many
years and regularly presented lectures
on important works in the permanent
collection and other Australian and
John Walker
(Australia 1878–1955)
Marquette of the Robert
Burns bust
plaster and bronze
paint
c1910
Gift of Mrs J Nobbs,
1982. Collection
Bendigo Art Gallery
1982.1
public’. 32
The English-born Art Director
of the School of Mines, Woodward
was ‘… an accomplished painter and
teacher … with extensive training in
the art schools of London, Paris and
Antwerp [and] teaching experience
on the staff of … Birmingham
School of Art’. 33 He was known
as a talented teacher and under his
guidance ‘… there emerged a group
of local painters of considerable ability.
Several continued their studies in
Paris’. 34 His teaching methods and
growing reputation attracted many art
students. Under the expert guidance of
Woodward, artists such as Ola Cohn,
Madge Freeman, Agnes Goodsir,
Marion Jones, Norman Penrose and
John Walker developed successful
artistic careers – and the Gallery’s
collection holds examples of each of
these artists’ works.
One of Woodward’s most celebrated
students, Agnes Goodsir moved to
Bendigo from Portland in 1898 to
learn from this esteemed art teacher
at the Bendigo School of Mines.
Following encouragement from
Woodward, she left for Paris to further
her art training, where she remained
for the rest of her life. She became an
established artist, exhibiting extensively
at the Royal Academy of Arts and the
Paris Salons. The Gallery’s collection
holds five works by Goodsir, including
the celebrated painting Girl with
Cigarette (1925). The Agnes Goodsir
Archive, comprised of photographs,
ephemera and art medals is also housed
at Bendigo Art Gallery.
John Walker, a talented local sculptor,
was also trained by Woodward at the
School of Mines. He too studied in
Paris before returning and settling
in Bendigo. Over the course of his
career he received numerous public
commissions which can be viewed
throughout the City of Bendigo. The
bust of Scottish poet Robert Burns,
made of Carrara marble, was presented
in 1911 by public subscription, initiated
by the Bendigo Caledonian Society
and assisted by the Gallery Committee.
The unveiling of the work was
conducted by the Governor of Victoria,
Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael. This
work was Walker’s first attempt with
marble. 35 The bust is on permanent
display at Bendigo Art Gallery and
each year the Caledonian Society pay
homage to Robert Burns by laying a
wreath in his memory.
Also purchased early in the Gallery’s
history is the unassuming painting,
Afternoon tea (1887) by Emma Minnie
However, The Spanish maiden also
had its admirers: considered ‘high
art’ 31 it remained on display, and is
now a favourite of the collection. In
the 21st century it seems difficult to
comprehend the initial uproar this
work created.
An exploration of the collection
would not be complete without
making note of the Gallery’s first
acquisition. The first recorded
acquisition is Pall Mall from Bull Street
by WED Stuart (c1830–1873). A
gift of the Council of the Sandhurst
School of Mines in 1887, this large
unfinished and unsigned painting
shows Bendigo (or Sandhurst as it was
international collections for the general
22 23