Sir Arthur Streeton Australian, 1867-1943 Still Life, Glass bowl with nasturtiums and other flowers oil on canvas initialled A.S lower right and inscribed in pen to the back of the canvas A Streeton
ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) Bridges Over the River Thames, London watercolour on paper signed lower right: A STREETON signed lower left in pencil: A Streeton 33 x 48cm (60 x 75cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Carol Lynette Crooks, Sydney
Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) Mosman Bay, c.1907 signed lower left: 'A Streeton' inscribed verso: 'A. Streeton/ Murcutt/ Mosman's Bay' oil on wood panel 16.0 x 65.0cm (6 5/16 x 25 9/16in).
Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) Peronne, c.1918 signed and titled lower left: 'STREETON / PERONNE' watercolour on paper 51.5 x 34.5cm (20 1/4 x 13 9/16in).
STREETON, Arthur (1867-1943) 'An English Lane,' 1897. Signed 'Arthur Streeton' lower left; inscribed in pencil verso (faintly) with title and date. Oil on Canvas on Board 34x24cm PROVENANCE: Rushton Fine Arts, 'Fine & Important Paintings,' Sydney 7th July 1987 (lot 85); deceased estate, Sydney. OTHER NOTES: Related work: 'English Landscape,' Mossgreen Auctions, Melbourne 31st May 2011, lot 7 (illus.)
STREETON, Arthur (1867-1943) 'The Indigo Hill,' c.1905. Initialled 'AS' lower left. Copy of letter of authenticity affixed verso from Oliver Streeton, 23rd August 1977, locating the scene as Kent about 1905. Oil on Canvas Board 24.5x29.5cm PROVENANCE: Major Harold de Vahl Rubin (collection label verso); Christies, Sydney 'The Major Harold de Vahl Rubin Collection,' Part II, 2nd October 1973, lot 46 (remnants of label affixed verso); private collection, Ivanhoe Victoria (as per Oliver Streeton note verso); Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne (exhibited 'Australian Art, Colonial to Contemporary,' May-June 1995, cat #42 - documentation available); Masterpiece Fine Art Gallery, Hobart (documentation available); Mr & Mrs J Burgess, ACT (purchased from the above in 1999); estate late John & Celia Burgess, ACT.
STREETON, Arthur (1867-1943) 'Melon Patch,' 1896. Signed and dated lower right 'A Streeton '96'. Constructed as a vertical tableau, this work is typical of Streeton's 1890s Sydney compositions, revealing an interest in Japanese forms such as the pillar print. Other works were realised in the horizontal, most famously Sydney Harbour and Sirius Cove views. 'Melon Patch,' 1896 is an expression of the fertility of nature, and our interaction with it through farming. Sheets of rain fall from a distant cloud burst, transmogrify through the middle ground, and resolve into propitious fruits on the vine - the natural cycle renews continuously. The scene is likely a region of the Hawkesbury River at the foot of Sydney's Blue Mountains. Oil on Panel 59.5x27cm (sight) 61x28cm (panel) PROVENANCE: The artist; Mr Barr Smith until 1928; anonymous collector consigning to Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 'Australian, British, New Zealand and European Historical and Contemporary Paintings,' 20th August 1991 (lot 150); deceased estate, Sydney. LITERATURE: 'The Arthur Streeton Catalogue,' Melbourne 1935, pub. Arthur Streeton, cat #163 p.117. OTHER NOTES: Remnants of old label verso for Henry W Callan, 318 George St, Sydney. Henry W Callan's Art Gallery was a commercial gallery active at that time, and favoured by many of the Australian Impressionists. In 1896, Streeton completed his Hawkesbury River series, most notably 'The Purple Noon's Transparent Might,' exhibited in Sydney in September, then in Streeton's first one-man Melbourne exhibition in December, where it was acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria. It was on the strength of this success that Streeton embarked for England, stopping six months in Cairo en route.
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 Auntie 1893 oil on wood panel signed and dated 'Arthur StrEEton / 93' lower right 76 x 32.3 cm PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, Sydney Mr W. Hardy Wilson, Sydney Hardy Wilson Collection of Works of Art, James R. Lawson, Sydney, 3 May 1922, lot 346 Private Collection, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney, by descent from the above EXHIBITED Studio Private View, Commercial Union Chambers, Sydney, 17-18 August 1893 Fourteenth Annual Exhibition, Art Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 1 September 1893, no. 223, £7.7.0
Sir Arthur Streeton Australian, 1867-1943 Mr Streeton's Potato Crop 1928 oil on canvas signed lower right Provenance: Gould Galleries, Sydney 2006 Sotheby's, Fine Australian & International Paintings, Sydney, 25/08/2002, Lot No. 74 Compare: The Blackwood Tree, sold Smith and Singer 24/08/22, lot 25, sold 90k Reference: The Arthur Streeton Catalogue Arthur Streeton Melbourne 1935 cat. 945. Arthur Streeton had a great connection with the land, not just through his art, but in his private life also, as a keen gardener and he enjoyed working on his own large garden at Olinda in the Dandenong's on the outskirts of Melbourne.
Important early work by Arthur Streeton Harvest, Merri Creek 1885 Watercolour on paper 15.5 x 23.0 cm Signed with initials and inscribed verso: Harvest near Merri Creek / 24/1/85/AES Inscription verso: Harvest/Merri Creek/by/ A E Streeton/ From the collection of I W Hines Collection /A S Michael Collection EXHIBITION Loan Exhibition of the works of Arthur Streeton, National Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 20 November 1931 to 20 January 1932 ,cat no 31 (Label attached Verso) LITERATURE 1931 National Gallery of New South Wales . Loan Exhibition of the works of Arthur Streeton .Cat 31 Streeton, A, The Arthur Streeton Catalogue , Melbourne 1935 Cat 13
PROPERTY FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF SIR WALTER BALDWIN SPENCER, MELBOURNE ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) (Windsor) 1903 oil on canvas 35.0 x 45.0 cm; 53.5 x 63.5 cm (framed) statement of authenticity from Sir Daryl Lindsay, former Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, attached verso
ARTHUR STREETON VISITS MONASH'S HEADQUARTERS AT LA CATEAU IN NOVEMBER 1918 ARTHUR ERNEST STREETON (1867 - 1943), "La Cateau", watercolour, signed and endorsed "A. STREETON / LA CATEAU 1918" at lower right, 36 x 54cm; framed 59 x 76cm overall. Provenance: A gift from Streeton to Monash as a token of gratitude; the family, by descent. NOTES: Geoffrey Serle, "John Monash", 1982 at page 499 For Streeton, one of the great honours of his life had been dining in the Corps mess at Le Cateau in November 1918; Monash had put him on his left hand and told him not to rise for anyone. "War Letters of General Monash", at page 280 France, 12 November 1918 "The march into Germany has already commenced. I left Eu yesterday morning by motor, and journeyed 120 miles to Le Cateau, where I have temporarily established my headquarters. The journey took me across the whole length of our battlefields from Villers-Bretonneux to here (Le Cateau), passing the formidable and forbidding desert of eighty odd miles devastated by the war. Le Cateau is on the fringe of the territory which has barely been touched by fighting, and every mile takes one more and more into the country which more nearly resembles English pasture land, with hedgerows and woods. The château which I now occupy had as its last occupant Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, he who was to marry the Luxembourg Princess. It is spacious and still has most of its furniture more or less intact, though war-worn. All the tapestries and the pictures have, however, been stolen, and most of the plate-glass mirrors in the beautiful state rooms have been used for revolver practice. As most of the glass in the windows of the château has gone, it is rather cold and cheerless. It is from the same château that Lord French in 1914 fought the battle of Mons." Arthur Streeton, along with other members of the Chelsea Arts Club, including Tom Roberts, joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (British Army) at the age of 48. He worked at the 3rd London General Hospital in Wandsworth and reached the rank of corporal. He was made an Australian Official War Artist with the Australian Imperial Force, holding the rank of Honorary Lieutenant, and he travelled to France on 14 May 1918 attached to the 2nd Division, and receiving his movement order on 8 May 1918. He worked in France, with a break in August, until October 1918. Expected by the Commonwealth to produce sketches and drawings that were "descriptive", Streeton concentrated on the landscape of the scenes of war and did not attempt to convey the human suffering. Unlike the more famous military art depicting the definitive moments of battle, Streeton produced "military still life", capturing the everyday moments of the war. He explained what was at that time an unconventional point of view – a perspective which was based in experience: "True pictures of battlefields are very quiet looking things. There's nothing much to be seen, everybody and thing is hidden and camouflaged."
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 Peter and the Blackwood Tree (1933) oil on canvas signed 'A .STREETON.' lower right 51.5 x 62 cm frame: original, John Thallon, Melbourne PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, Melbourne The Athenaeum Gallery, Melbourne Maurice Sloman, Melbourne, acquired from the above in August 1933 for 35 gns Private Collection, Melbourne, by descent from the above Fine Australian and International Paintings, Sotheby's Australia, Melbourne, 2 May 2000, lot 84, 'Peter and Blackwood', illustrated Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above EXHIBITED A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by Arthur Streeton, Athenaeum Gallery, Melbourne, 15-26 August 1933, no. 39, 35 gns LITERATURE Arthur Streeton, The Arthur Streeton Catalogue, Arthur Streeton, Melbourne, 1935, cat. no. 1075, 'Peter and the Blackwood'
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 Sketch - Blue Mountains 1891 watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper signed, dated and inscribed 'StrEETon / BluE Mts / 91' lower right 23.5 x 30.5 cm PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, Sydney Private Collection Private Collection, Sydney Australian, International and Aboriginal Fine Art, Bonhams & Goodman, 19 November 2007, lot 6, illustrated Private Collection, Brisbane, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture & Drawings, Victorian Artists' Society, Melbourne, 27 May 1892, no. 234, £3.3.0
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 Sunlight at the Camp 1894 oil on canvas signed and dated 'StrEEton / 94' lower right 31 x 60.7 cm frame: S.A. Parker, Sydney (label verso) PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney The Ruth Simon Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above EXHIBITED (Probably) Fifteenth Annual Exhibition, Art Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 September 1894, no. 337, 'Sunlight at the Camp', £7.7.0 LITERATURE (Probably) 'The Art Society's Exhibition. II', The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 1 October 1894, p. 5
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SYDNEY ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) A Study - Rochester c1905 watercolour and pencil on paper 32.0 x 49.5 cm; 64.0 x 80.0 cm (framed) signed lower right: Arthur Streeton inscribed lower left: A Study -/ Rochester
PROPERTY FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR JOHN BRYAN, MELBOURNE ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) A Summer Field c1905 oil on canvas on board 29.0 x 44.0 cm; 47.5 x 63.0 cm (framed) signed with initials lower right: AS bears inscription verso: Dated by/ Oliver Streeton/ Early 1900s label attached verso bears catalogue details
PROPERTY FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF W.L. ABRAHAMS ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) Bright Morning, Venice 1908 watercolour on paper 33.5 x 52.0 cm; 64.0 x 79.0 cm (framed) signed lower left: A STREETON
A collection of books about Arthur Streeton. Mostly hardcovers in dustwrappers in very good condition. Includes: 1) The Oil Paintings of Arthur Streeton in the National Gallery of Australia. Mary Eagle 2) Painter of Light by Christopher Wray 3) by Ann Galbally 3) Letters from Smike
ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) Satyr and Shepherdess c1900 watercolour on card 53.0 x 36.0 cm; 74.5 x 54.5 cm (framed) signed and inscribed lower left: Arthur STREETON/ LONDON.
STREETON, Arthur (1867-1943) The Yarra near Heidelberg, 1891. Signed and dated 'Streeton 91' lower right. Oil on Canvas 31x46cm (stretcher) PROVENANCE: Ivon Murdoch (1892-1964) and Alma Murdoch (nee Anderson), 'Wantabadgery East,' N.S.W.; Stuart Murdoch, son of the above (d.1990) and Patricia Murdoch (nee McKay), 'Wantabadgery East,' then 'Springvale,' near Wagga Wagga, N.S.W.; Estate Late Patricia Osborne (Murdoch), Wagga Wagga, N.S.W. OTHER NOTES: This recently rediscovered work, painted just two years after the seminal 9x5 exhibition of 1889, depicts a well-dressed family arriving for a day's fishing on the Yarra, with the father holding a fishing rod, his wife and child alongside him at the water's edge. It is closely related to 'The Bathers,' of the same year (illus.) currently in the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery. 1891 proved to be an important year in Streeton's career. Living at Eaglemont periodically, he had the use of his great friend Tom Roberts' studio in Grosvenor Chambers, Collins St, Melbourne whilst Roberts was away painting in rural N.S.W. At that time, Victoria, and Melbourne in particular, was entering a period of depression after a decade of growth in the 1880s; and Streeton was set to depart for Sydney in September of that year, where he was to paint the major work 'Fire's On,' Lapstone Tunnel (in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales). This work is not recorded in the existing literature for the artist, but might have formed part of the 'Art Union of Pictures, by Arthur Streeton,' raffle, with pictures on view at Buxtons Art Gallery in Swanston Street, which presented 30 prizes (invitation illus. - image courtesy Douglas Stewart Fine Books). The Argus, May 28th 1891 states: 'A private view of a number of pictures and studies, which are about to be disposed of by art union, is to be held this afternoon at the studio of Mr Arthur Streeton... Mr Streeton's landscape studies, made for the most part in the open air, in the neighbourhood of Heidelberg, reproduce general effects of atmosphere, light, and colour, and the broad aspects of the scenery, rather than specific details, and suggest more than they describe". Also, Table Talk, Friday 15th May 1891: "The First Picknicker is the title given to a spirited sketch of Heidelberg scenery, of which this artist has made a number of small studies all worthy of mention as being harmonious in colouring, the artist, however, not troubling much about composition, but painting Nature exactly as he finds her... the most important picture which has so far occupied Mr Streeton's attention is The Bathers, an autumn landscape, which he commenced recently at Heidelberg... It is Mr Streeton's intention to dispose of his works in a few weeks by an art union for which he is already making preparations. Mr Streeton has fixed the price of tickets at five shillings each. Spring, his large pastoral work, will be the first prize". Related works: Tom Roberts, 'A Quiet Stream (Heidelberg)' c.1888-90, oil on canvas, 25.5x46cm (illus.). Arthur Streeton, 'The Bathers,' 1891, oil on canvas, 31x62.5cm (illus.) n.b. this work signed in near identical manner. Fred Kruger (1831-1888), The Yarra - Heidelberg,' albumen silver photograph, c.1870s/80s (illus.); and Fred Kruger (1831-1888), 'Scene on the Yarra Yarra flats,' albumen silver photograph, c.1870/80s (illus.)
ARTHUR STREETON (1867 - 1943) THE ROYAL BARGE AT ETON, 1903 watercolour and pencil on paper 36.5 x 53.0 cm signed and dated lower left: Arthur Streeton / 1903 bears inscription on gallery label verso: THE ROYAL BARGE AT ETON / SIR ARTHUR STREETON / 1903. PROVENANCE Sir Baldwin Spencer, Melbourne, by 1907 P & D Colnaghi & Co Ltd, London, by 1940 (label attached verso) Private collection Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne Private collection Deutscher and Hackett, Melbourne, 25 November 2009, lot 33 (as 'The Kings Barge at Eton') Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITED An Exhibition of Pictures by Arthur Streeton Prior to his return to Europe, Hibernian Hall, 20 – 27 April 1907, cat. 52 Sir W. Baldwin Spencer’s Collection, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1 December 1916, cat. 29 (as ‘Royal Barge at Eton’) Loan Exhibition of Australian paintings, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 9 July - 29 August 1925, cat. 43 (label attached verso, as 'The King's Barge at Eton') RELATED WORK The King’s Barge, Eton, oil on canvas, 76.0 x 51.0 cm, private collection, Victoria The King's Barge at Eton, watercolour, 36.7 x 52.8 cm, The Howard Hinton Collection, in the collection of the New England Regional Art Museum, New South Wales The King’s Barge, Eton, 1905, watercolour on paper, 21.5 x 31.5 cm, private collection
ARTHUR STREETON (1867 - 1943) STILL LIFE WITH ROSES, c.1930s oil on canvas 75.0 x 62.5 cm signed lower right: A. STREETON PROVENANCE Private collection, Melbourne Christies, Sydney, 23 August 2004, lot 11 Private collection, New South Wales ESSAY We are grateful to Brenda Martin Thomas, wife of the late David Thomas AM, for kindly allowing us to reproduce David's writing in this catalogue entry. Arthur Streeton’s interest in painting flower pieces increased considerably after his return to Melbourne in 1920. Purchasing the property ‘Longacres’ at Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges and setting up a city home in Toorak, he established gardens at both. They inspired the many flower paintings that now hold a prominent part in his oeuvre. His favourite bloom was the rose, and so enamoured was he that in December 1932 he held an entire exhibition devoted to it. Shown at Melbourne’s Fine Art Society’s Gallery, it included Roses, Silver and Silk; Roses – Deep Red and Green; Roses Pale in Silver Bowl; and Roses – Pale Yellow. Two years previously both the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of New South Wales had acquired paintings simply titled ‘Roses’ – the former through the Felton Bequest and the Sydney gallery from Streeton’s solo exhibition at the Macquarie Galleries. They often contained a touch of drama, as in Roses, c.1929 (Art Gallery of New South Wales). Spot-lit against a dark background, the impact of its realism is powerful, as admired by a viewer at the time: ‘… I noticed a bunch of crimson roses on the wall, so real, that at the same instant I seemed almost to be overpowered by the scent. Having practically to shake myself free of this fancy, I found I was gazing at a picture of what was just a bunch of red roses in a simple glass vase, but so real, so perfect, that one of the roses looked as if it was about to wilt.’1 These qualities were readily noted by the newspaper critics. Of Streeton’s exhibition at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Gallery in November 1920, the Age critic wrote: ‘a painting of a spray of plum blossom in a glass bowl… reveals the painter’s almost uncanny cleverness. To paint glass without the help of a dominant color behind it is a problem that most artists would leave severely alone. With a few sure strokes of the brush Mr. Streeton has achieved the translucency, the actual brittleness of the glass.’2 In Still Life with Roses, c.1930s, the painterly subtleties of the setting compliment the seductive reds and textured petals of the flowers, formed and highlighted by the masterly play of light and shade. Streeton's technique gives added immediacy, increasing the affinity between artist and viewer as they share in a moment of beauty, transcending the transience of nature. As fellow artist Harold Herbert, reviewing Streeton’s solo Melbourne exhibition of 1934, which included five paintings of roses, remarked: ‘In this show, there are many beautiful flower pieces, all painted with the wizardry that is Streeton’s own… his flower pieces [are] full of fragrant freshness and convincing realism. Not only are the flowers beautifully painted and arranged, but the glazed vase or crystal bowl that contains them is an object to be admired for its masterly treatment in paint. Backgrounds of silks and velvets are other features of these studies to excite admiration.’3 Such words of praise apply equally to the present Still Life with Roses. 1. W.G.E., ‘The Streeton Collection’, Letters to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December 1931, p. 4 2. ‘Mr. Arthur Streeton Among The Grampians’, The Age, Melbourne, 2 November 1920, p. 8 3. Herbert, H., ‘The Art of Arthur Streeton’, The Argus, Melbourne, 5 June 1934, p. 5 DAVID THOMAS
§ ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 The Cedars, Combe Bank (1913) oil on canvas signed 'A STREETON' lower left 63 x 74.5 cm PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, London Sir Robert Mond, United Kingdom, acquired from the above Private Collection Lister Gallery, Perth Corporate Collection, Perth Important Australian Art, Smith & Singer (trading as Sotheby's Australia), Melbourne, 20 April 2010, lot 5, illustrated Private Collection, London, acquired from the above Important Australian Art, Smith & Singer (trading as Sotheby's Australia), Sydney, 9 April 2019, lot 53, illustrated Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above
ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) Amiens 1918 watercolour on paper signed, dated and titled lower right and left: A STREETON 1918 / AMIENS 39.5 x 49.5cm PROVENANCE Sotheby's Australia, Melbourne, 28 November 2005, Lot 114 Private Collection, Brisbane Leonard Joel, Fine Art, Melbourne, 2 June 2020, Lot 25 Private Collection, Melbourne LITERATURE The Arthur Streeton Catalogue, Arthur Streeton, Melbourne, 1935, cat. no. 586
ARTHUR STREETON (1867-1943) Procession Josselin 1899 pencil and wash on paper signed lower left: astreeton titled and dated lower right: Procession '99/Josselin 24.5 x 33.5cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Melbourne
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 Evening Game 1889 oil on cardboard inscribed 'EvEning Game' lower left; signed and dated 'StreEten 89' lower right 13.3 x 23.3 cm PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, Melbourne Professor Henry Laurie and Mrs Frances Laurie, Melbourne, acquired from the above in August 1889 A Fine Collection of Australian, English and European Paintings, Decoration Co., Melbourne, 18 November 1953, lot 107, 'Looking Towards Melbourne from the Yarra, 1881' Private Collection, Melbourne Private Collection, Sydney, by descent from the above EXHIBITED The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition, Buxton's Art Gallery, Melbourne, 17 August 1889, no. 145, 2 gns Moonrise, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, 30 November 1973 - 21 January 1974, no. 41 (label verso) Arthur Streeton 1867-1943, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 8 December 1995 - 12 February 1996; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 1 March - 14 April 1996; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 2 May - 16 June 1996; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 9 July - 25 August 1996; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 11 October - 24 November 1996, no. 17, illustrated (label verso) Australian Impressionism, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 31 March - 8 July 2007, no. 9.52, illustrated Streeton, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 7 November 2020 - 14 February 2021, illustrated She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, 2 April - 22 August 2021 LITERATURE 'Art and Artists', Table Talk, Melbourne, 23 August 1889, p. 4 Ann Galbally, Arthur Streeton, Lansdowne Press, Melbourne, 1969, cat. no. 31, p. 92 Geoffrey Smith, Arthur Streeton 1867-1943, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1995, pp. 48, 49 (illustrated) Terence Lane, Australian Impressionism, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2007, pp. 178 (illustrated), 334, 351 Wayne Tunnicliffe (ed.), Streeton, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2021, pp. 59 (illustrated), 368 Anne Gray and Angela Hesson (eds), She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism, National Gallery of Victoria in association with Thames & Hudson, Melbourne, 2021, p. 284
ARTHUR STREETON (1867 - 1943) ROUEN, FROM BON SECOURS, 1912 oil on canvas 51.0 x 77.0 cm signed lower right: A. Streeton bears inscription on plaque attached to frame: Sir Arthur Streeton / “ROUEN, FROM BON SECOURS” / (c.1912) PROVENANCE Sir Edward Hayward, Adelaide, by 1968 Private collection, Melbourne Sotheby's, Melbourne, 19 August 1996, lot 147 Henry Krongold, Melbourne The Estate of Paul Krongold, Melbourne EXHIBITED Arthur Streeton Exhibition, John Martin & Co. Ltd, Adelaide Festival of Arts, Adelaide, 6 - 23 March 1968, cat. 79 (label attached verso) LITERATURE Streeton, A., The Arthur Streeton Catalogue, Melbourne, 1935, cat. 482 or 483 RELATED WORK Rouen, 1912, oil, illus. in Ure Smith, S., The Art of Arthur Streeton, Special Number of Art in Australia, Angus & Robertson, Melbourne, 1919, pl. XXXIX Rouen, 1912, watercolour on paper, 23.5 x 34.5 cm, private collection ESSAY Arthur Streeton left Australia in January 1897, bound for London and eager to see the works of the great masters of European art, as well as those of his contemporary international peers. Writing to his friend Tom Roberts the following year, he declared, ‘[John Singer] Sargent is a perfect wonder … & 2 or 3 … are quite as fine as the great Rembrandt.’1 In a postscript to the letter, he wrote: I feel convinced that my work hereafter will contain a larger idea & quality than before – After seeing Constable Turner Titian Watts & all the masters – I wish you & the Prof [Frederick McCubbin] could have a trip here – I think it’s necessary for ones work – I’m evolving & should I return I’d never paint Australia in exactly the same way – by Gad I’ll do one or two great things if I get out there again – I know more now - & would touch it more poetically.2 Apart from two extended visits to Australia, Streeton remained in England for more than twenty years, returning to the country of his birth in 1920 an established and successful artist. With his home base in London, Streeton had relatively easy access to Europe and his first visit to France, a week in Paris, took place in the summer of 1901. ‘I was over there for a week a little time back. The 1 st impression never to be forgotten – & best of all the Louvre – the Giorgione, Titians, Poussins, Claudes, Tintoretto’s – ‘My Golly – how they sank down into me – how inspiring’.3 He visited France again, as well as Belgium, in May the following year, travelling with fellow artist Emanuel Phillips Fox. This painting of Rouen, in Normandy in the north of France, emerged from more extensive travels through France in 1912 in the company of the English artist, collector and philanthropist, Sigismund Goetze. Writing to his friend Walter Pring, Streeton described the itinerary: ‘We’ve had pretty good weather for Amiens, Rouen (marvellous), Caen … Bayeux, Rennes, Vannes Mt St Michel, Qumper, & a dozen other places seen by motor, train etc – & still we go on, … We look forward to many places yet & later in Tours, & Chartres with its indescribable glass’.4 He also noted, ‘I met your friend Homo near where we stayed at Rouen, Hotel de la Poste, he was most kind and charming & helped direct me to the view of Rouen’.5 It is tempting to speculate that this perspective of Rouen, seen from the Gothic Revival Basilica Notre-Dame de Bon Secours outside the city, is ‘the view’ that Streeton refers to in his letter. Looking down a gently sloping, grassy hill, past rows of small houses towards the centre of Rouen, the painting adopts a broad view of its subject, taking in the pale blue river that meanders through the landscape, flanked by towering industrial chimney stacks and other buildings, all brought together under a vast open sky. Streeton was a skilled painter and his love of his medium and facility with the brush is on full display in this work. Broad, lively brushstrokes impart a sense of dynamism and movement within the depiction of the overcast sky, while quick daubs of paint describe yachts and other vessels on the river, as well as the smoke that emanates from the chimney stacks. While the subject matter and colour palette are very different from Streeton’s iconic ‘blue and gold’ depictions of the Australian landscape, the composition shares many of the characteristics of well-known paintings such as ‘Still glides the stream, and shall for ever glide’, 1890 (Art Gallery of New South Wales) and Australia Felix, 1907 (Art Gallery of South Australia). This predilection for a panoramic view is perhaps the reason that he chose not to focus on a more obvious landmark, the Rouen Cathedral, that was made famous by Claude Monet in his early 1890s series of more than thirty paintings of its façade which captured the changing colour and light at different times of day and year. Streeton’s best-known paintings of France were made some years later when he was appointed an Australian official war artist and attached to the 2 nd Division of the Australian Imperial Force, undertaking two tours in 1918. Producing many more works than his commission required – watercolours and drawings made in the field, and paintings produced in the studio – Streeton was inspired by both his subject and his fellow-soldiers: ‘Australians, I thought I understood … but its necessary to see & know them here to properly appreciate the manhood of Australia – Absolutely – The fights against fire & flood & thirst in the Bush, all tells in the field here – & brings out the finest in them … I’m glad I’ve not missed it.’6 1. Streeton to Tom Roberts, 28 June 1898 quoted in Galbally, A. and Gray, A. (eds.), Letters from Smike: The Letters of Arthur Streeton 1890-1943, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1989, p. 77. Streeton’s spelling and punctuation was idiosyncratic and is quoted here exactly as it has been transcribed and published. 2. ibid., p. 78 3. Streeton to Tom Roberts, 1 October 1901, ibid., p. 88 4. Streeton to Walter Pring, 15 September 1912, ibid., p. 123 5. ibid. 6. Streeton to Tom Roberts, 6 July 1918, ibid., p. 148. For more information about Streeton’s work as an official war artist, see Yip, A., ‘Painting the Somme’ in Tunnicliffe, W., Streeton, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2020, pp. 234-242. KIRSTY GRANT
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 Cauliflower 1925 oil on canvas signed and dated 'ARTHUR STREETON 1925' lower left 51 x 76 cm frame: original, John Thallon, Melbourne (label verso) PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, Melbourne Oliver Streeton, Melbourne, acquired from the above National Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, acquired in 1945 (deaccessioned) Private Collection, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney Private Collection, United Kingdom, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Exhibition of Paintings by Arthur Streeton, The Fine Art Society's Gallery, Melbourne, 29 October - 11 November 1925, no. 3, 'Vegetables', (150 gns) Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Arthur Streeton, The Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 10-26 March 1927, no. 5, 100 gns Loan Exhibition of the Works of Arthur Streeton, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 November 1931 - 20 January 1932, no. 79 A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by Arthur Streeton, The Athenaeum Gallery, Melbourne, 15-26 August 1933, no. 26, 80 gns Exhibition of Pictures by Sir Arthur Streeton, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 8 April 1937, no. 19, 100 gns Arthur Streeton Memorial Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 5 September - 7 October 1944, no. 89, illustrated Arthur Streeton Memorial Exhibition, National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 9 November - 10 December 1944, no. 23 Arthur Streeton Memorial Exhibition, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 31 March - 20 May 1945, no. 43, illustrated Sir Arthur Streeton Exhibition, Adelaide Festival of Arts, John Martin & Co. Limited, Adelaide, 6-23 March 1968, no. 58 (label verso) LITERATURE 'Mr. A. Streeton's Paintings', The Age, Melbourne, 29 October 1925, p. 15 'Mr. Streeton's Paintings', The Argus, Melbourne, 29 October 1925, p. 9 'Mr. Streeton's Paintings', The Australasian, Melbourne, 31 October 1925, p. 45 George Galway, 'Streeton's Art. A Master Craftsman. Charm of Harbour', The Evening News, Sydney, 10 March 1927, p. 10 'Mr. Streeton's Exhibition', The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 10 March 1927, p. 6 'Mr. A. Streeton's Oil Paintings', The Australasian, Melbourne, 19 March 1927, p. 41 Arthur Streeton, The Arthur Streeton Catalogue, Arthur Streeton, Melbourne, 1935, cat. no. 839, illustrated OTHER NOTES PROPERTY LINE: PROPERTY FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, ADELAIDE
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 San Gregorio and the Rio della Salute (1908) oil on canvas signed 'A STREETON' lower left 54 x 64 cm PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, London Private Collection Private Collection, Melbourne Fine Australian and European Paintings, Sotheby's Australia, Melbourne, 24 November 1997, lot 104, illustrated Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above Private Collection, Sydney EXHIBITED Australian Paintings: Colonial, Impressionist, Early Modern, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 8-25 March 1983, no. 32, '(Venice)', illustrated
ARTHUR STREETON 1867-1943 (Harvest Scene) (1904) oil on wood signed 'A STREETON' lower left 18.8 x 24 cm PROVENANCE Arthur Streeton, London Private Collection Private Collection, Sydney
Arthur Streeton Memorial Exhibition. National Gallery of Victoria 5th September to 7th October, 1944. Original thin boards with 2 colour plates. unpaginated but 16 pages. Very good copy
Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) Cathedral, Bruges, c.1919 signed lower right: 'A STREETON' watercolour and pencil on paper 51.0 x 34.0cm (20 1/16 x 13 3/8in).
