Julian Ashton
Encyclopedia
Julian Rossi Ashton was an Australian artist and teacher, known for his support of the Heidelberg School
and for his influential art school in Sydney.
Ashton was born in Addlestone
, Surrey, England and arrived in Australia in 1878 with a background in the contemporary French realism of the Barbizon School
, which emphasised painting en plein air
(i.e. direct from nature, as opposed to studio-based painting), and which laid the basis for the Impressionist movement. As a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
he championed emerging Australian artists of the Australian Impressionist or Heidelberg School
, and the Gallery's decision to collect these works owes much to his influence.
George Lambert
painted a portrait of Ashton which is in the Art Gallery of New South Wales
. Lambert showed Ashton, then 77, with white hair and a military-type moustache, dressed in a grey suit and a dapper bow-tie, cigar in hand, sitting beside a table with a mass of objects. The cigar and wine suggest 'good living' and the flowers and fruit may have referred to Ashton's role as a gardener. Behind him there is a deep red curtain draped over a gold picture frame, behind which there is a curtain, creating an abstract arrangement of bold colours, with the frame suggesting Ashton's role as an artist, teacher and patron.
According to James Gleeson
, Ashton's oil paintings... (were) very much-admired in his own lifetime (and continue to be so admired today).
in Paris
) has been and remains to this day one of the most influential in Australia.
Julian Ashton students have included Elioth Gruner
, George Lambert
, B E Minns, Thea Proctor
, Adrian Feint
, Sydney Long
, Howard Ashton (Julian's son), Dorrit Black, J J Hilder
, William Dobell
, Eric Wilson, Jean Bellette, Douglas Dundas, Arthur Freeman, William Dadswell, John Passmore
, Joshua Smith, Max Dupain
, John Olsen
, Michael Johnston, Jim Russell, Sydney Ure Smith
, Brett Whiteley
, Susan Dorothea White
, Nigel Thomson
and Salvatore Zofrea
.
After Julian Ashton died in 1942, the school was run by Henry Gibbons (1884–1972). Henry Gibbons had started at the school as a student in April 1919 and soon became the teacher of the night drawing classes. In 1924 Gibbons proposed starting a Saturday afternoon class so that he could teach some of the night drawing students to paint. The Saturday class started in February 1924 and the first nine students were Dobell, Dundas, Passmore, Badham, Lawrence, Brackenreg, Byrne, Hubble and Cox. Gibbons taught many winners of the NSW Traveling Arts Scholarship. Henry Gibbons retired in 1960.
Howard Ashton's son, J. Richard Ashton, and his wife Wenda ran the School from 1960, when, among many gifted artists, Ian Chapman
and Archibald Prize
winner Francis Giacco
attended, until 1977 when Phillip Ashton (Richard's son) became Principal, this being the time of Haydn Wilson, political cartoonist Bill Leak
and artist Paul Newton
.
In 1988 the school was incorporated and Paul Delprat
, Julian Ashton's great-grandson, himself an ex-student took over the running of the school, becoming the current Principal. In 1989 the school's antique casts and easels, which date back to 1890, were classified by the National Trust
. The school's main campus is in The Rocks
, Sydney, located opposite the Museum of Contemporary Art
. Since 2004 the school has also conducted classes at Headland Park, Georges Heights, Mosman.
The School currently offers: The Sir William Dobell, Brett Whiteley
, John Olsen
, Thea Proctor
, Portrait Artists Australia, Sydney Mechanic's School of Arts and The Art Express scholarships to encourage fine drawing and painting. Samuel Wade, a Brett Whiteley Scholarship winner at the school, went on to win the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship
at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
.
Heidelberg School
The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. The movement has latterly been described as Australian Impressionism....
and for his influential art school in Sydney.
Ashton was born in Addlestone
Addlestone
Addlestone is a town in the borough of Runnymede in the county of Surrey, England.Immediate surrounding towns and villages include Weybridge, Ottershaw, Chertsey, and New Haw. It is near Junction 11 of the M25 motorway and is served by Addlestone railway station on the Chertsey Branch Line. It also...
, Surrey, England and arrived in Australia in 1878 with a background in the contemporary French realism of the Barbizon School
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
, which emphasised painting en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
(i.e. direct from nature, as opposed to studio-based painting), and which laid the basis for the Impressionist movement. As a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
he championed emerging Australian artists of the Australian Impressionist or Heidelberg School
Heidelberg School
The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. The movement has latterly been described as Australian Impressionism....
, and the Gallery's decision to collect these works owes much to his influence.
George Lambert
George Washington Lambert
George Washington Thomas Lambert ARA was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait paintings and as a war artist during the First World War.-Early life:...
painted a portrait of Ashton which is in the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
. Lambert showed Ashton, then 77, with white hair and a military-type moustache, dressed in a grey suit and a dapper bow-tie, cigar in hand, sitting beside a table with a mass of objects. The cigar and wine suggest 'good living' and the flowers and fruit may have referred to Ashton's role as a gardener. Behind him there is a deep red curtain draped over a gold picture frame, behind which there is a curtain, creating an abstract arrangement of bold colours, with the frame suggesting Ashton's role as an artist, teacher and patron.
According to James Gleeson
James Gleeson
James Timothy Gleeson was Australia's foremost artist. He was also a poet, critic, writer and curator. He played a significant role in the Australian art scene, including serving on the board of the National Gallery of Australia.-Early life:Gleeson was born in the Sydney district of Hornsby and he...
, Ashton's oil paintings... (were) very much-admired in his own lifetime (and continue to be so admired today).
Julian Ashton Art School
The Sydney Art School (also known as the Julian Ashton Art School), which Ashton established in 1890 as the "Academy Julien", (perhaps a reference to the Académie JulianAcadémie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) has been and remains to this day one of the most influential in Australia.
Julian Ashton students have included Elioth Gruner
Elioth Gruner
Elioth Lauritz Leganyer Gruner, early anglicised from Grüner , was an Australian painter, winner of the Wynne Prize seven times.-Early life:...
, George Lambert
George Lambert
George Lambert may refer to:*George Lambert , played for Fitzroy Football Club in the early 20th century*George Lambert , English cricketer...
, B E Minns, Thea Proctor
Thea Proctor
Althea Mary Proctor was, with Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, one of the most famous Australian woman artists of her time. She was born in Armidale, New South Wales, New South Wales, to solicitor and politician William Consett Proctor and his wife Katherine Louise...
, Adrian Feint
Adrian Feint
Adrian Feint was an Australian artist born in Narrandera, NSW and who worked in various media but is noted for his bookplate designs....
, Sydney Long
Sydney Long
Sydney Long was an Australian Artist.Born on 20 August 1871 at Ifield, Goulburn, New South Wales, Sydney Long began formal art classes at the New South Wales Art Society in 1890. in 1894 his Heidelberg School-influenced painting 'By Tranquil Waters' caused a small scandal, but was purchased by the...
, Howard Ashton (Julian's son), Dorrit Black, J J Hilder
J J Hilder
J J Hilder , also known as Jesse Jewhurst Hilder, was an Australian Watercolourist from the Heidelberg School, a style of painting.-Early life:...
, William Dobell
William Dobell
Sir William Dobell, OBE was an Australian artist .The electoral Division of Dobell is named after him.- Life :...
, Eric Wilson, Jean Bellette, Douglas Dundas, Arthur Freeman, William Dadswell, John Passmore
John Passmore
John Passmore AC was an Australian philosopher.Passmore was born in Manly, Sydney. He graduated from the University of Sydney with first-class honours in English literature and philosophy, and went on to study to become a secondary-school teacher...
, Joshua Smith, Max Dupain
Max Dupain
Maxwell Spencer Dupain AC was a renowned Australian modernist photographer.-Early life:Dupain received his first camera as a gift in 1924, spurring his interest in photography He later joined the Photographic Society of NSW, and when he left school, he worked for Cecil Bostock in Sydney.-Early...
, John Olsen
John Olsen (artist)
John Henry Olsen, AO, OBE is an Australian artist. Olsen's primary subject of work is landscape.-Biography:John Olsen was born in Newcastle on 21 January 1928 and moved to Bondi Beach with his family in 1935, which began his lifelong fascination with Sydney Harbour...
, Michael Johnston, Jim Russell, Sydney Ure Smith
Sydney Ure Smith
Sydney George Ure Smith was an Australian arts publisher and promoter who 'did more than any other Australian to publicize Australian art at home and overseas'....
, Brett Whiteley
Brett Whiteley
Brett Whiteley, AO was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald Prize...
, Susan Dorothea White
Susan Dorothea White
Susan Dorothea White , also called Sue White and Susan White, is an Australian painter, sculptor, and printmaker. She is a narrative artist and her work concerns the natural world and human situation, increasingly incorporating satire and irony to convey her concern for human rights and equality...
, Nigel Thomson
Nigel Thomson
Nigel Thomson , Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize twice. Known for satirical paintings of Australian society. He studied at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and later taught artistic composition at that institution....
and Salvatore Zofrea
Salvatore Zofrea
Salvatore Zofrea is an Italio-Australian artist and painter.-Life and work:Zofrea was born in Borgia, Italy in 1946, and emigrated to Australia in 1956. He studied at the Julian Ashton School in Sydney, and privately with Henry V...
.
After Julian Ashton died in 1942, the school was run by Henry Gibbons (1884–1972). Henry Gibbons had started at the school as a student in April 1919 and soon became the teacher of the night drawing classes. In 1924 Gibbons proposed starting a Saturday afternoon class so that he could teach some of the night drawing students to paint. The Saturday class started in February 1924 and the first nine students were Dobell, Dundas, Passmore, Badham, Lawrence, Brackenreg, Byrne, Hubble and Cox. Gibbons taught many winners of the NSW Traveling Arts Scholarship. Henry Gibbons retired in 1960.
Howard Ashton's son, J. Richard Ashton, and his wife Wenda ran the School from 1960, when, among many gifted artists, Ian Chapman
Ian Chapman
Ian Russell Chapman is an English former professional footballer. Born in Brighton, he spent most of his career with hometown club Brighton & Hove Albion.-Playing career:...
and Archibald Prize
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
winner Francis Giacco
Francis Giacco
Francis Giacco is an Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize in 1994 with Homage to John Reichard. Has a Bachelor of Architecture from the UNSW. Francis has been a long time teacher at the Julian Ashton Art School, The Rocks, Sydney...
attended, until 1977 when Phillip Ashton (Richard's son) became Principal, this being the time of Haydn Wilson, political cartoonist Bill Leak
Bill Leak
Bill Leak is a cartoonist and painter, primarily of portraits. He is the daily editorial cartoonist on The Australian newspaper. He has won the Walkley Awards nine times....
and artist Paul Newton
Paul Newton
Paul Newton, Australian artist who has twice won the Packing Room award at the Archibald Prize. He won in 1996 with a portrait of announcer John Laws, and again in 2001 with a portrait of characters Roy Slaven and HG Nelson, which also won the people's choice award...
.
In 1988 the school was incorporated and Paul Delprat
Paul Delprat
Paul Ashton Delprat is an Australian artist and the Principal of The Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney, Australia's oldest continuous fine art school...
, Julian Ashton's great-grandson, himself an ex-student took over the running of the school, becoming the current Principal. In 1989 the school's antique casts and easels, which date back to 1890, were classified by the National Trust
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
. The school's main campus is in The Rocks
The Rocks, New South Wales
The Rocks is an urban locality, tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney's city centre, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, immediately north-west of the Sydney central business district...
, Sydney, located opposite the Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia is an Australian museum solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art, both from across Australia and around the world...
. Since 2004 the school has also conducted classes at Headland Park, Georges Heights, Mosman.
The School currently offers: The Sir William Dobell, Brett Whiteley
Brett Whiteley
Brett Whiteley, AO was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald Prize...
, John Olsen
John Olsen
John Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years...
, Thea Proctor
Thea Proctor
Althea Mary Proctor was, with Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, one of the most famous Australian woman artists of her time. She was born in Armidale, New South Wales, New South Wales, to solicitor and politician William Consett Proctor and his wife Katherine Louise...
, Portrait Artists Australia, Sydney Mechanic's School of Arts and The Art Express scholarships to encourage fine drawing and painting. Samuel Wade, a Brett Whiteley Scholarship winner at the school, went on to win the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship
Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship
The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship is an Australian annual art award in honour of the painter Brett Whiteley. The scholarship is administered by the Art Gallery of New South Wales....
at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
.