Australian Colonial Portraits

Australian colonial portraiture has been largely overlooked by both scholars and the public alike, and to date has not received the attention it deserves in either the annals of Australian art history or the exhibitions which have been regularly mounted on colonial art. In comparison with colonial America, where portraiture emerged as a dominant force in the visual arts, in Australia the genre did not challenge the supremacy of landscape painting. The fact that portraits were regarded as being of value only by the relatives of those for whom they were painted, and were not generally held in esteem as works of art in their own right, may explain the paucity of works in public collections, the lack of public display of the work and the comparative ignorance about the artists who painted portraits.

We anticipate that this exhibition will initiate a reassessment of colonial portraiture and a recognition of the range of its achievements and shortcomings. Whilst exhibitions of the work of major colonial landscape artists such as John Glover, Louis Buvelot and Conrad Martens have been held during recent years, portraiture has received no critical attention. By drawing together the work of such portraitists as Augustus Earle, Thomas Bock and Thomas Griffiths Wainewright with the work of less well-known figures such as William Nicholas, Joseph Backler and Charles Rodius, we hope to inspire a critical reassessment of the role and importance of the genre within the broad spectrum of Australian art.

As the first exhibition of its kind, it does not seek to be totally comprehensive. Eve Buscombe’s Commentary delineates the major areas of concern and the rationale which guided the selection. The importance of this exhibition will lie partly in the discovery of long-ignored works which come to light as a result of the increased awareness of the subject of portraiture which it should inspire.
The Australian Gallery Directors Council expresses sincere thanks to the Guest Curator, Eve Buscombe, for her detailed and pioneering work in this field. Eve Buscombe completed a Master of Arts thesis on the subject at the Australian National University in 1971, and it is from this work that the present exhibition springs. To John McPhee and Ron Radford go thanks for their valuable assistance with the curatorial aspects of the show.

The exhibition would not have been possible without the assistance of both Carl Andrew, Curator of Art, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and the Director of that institution, Don Gregg, who were responsible for the physical organisation of the touring exhibition, and for the production of the catalogue in collaboration with the designer, Jane Burrell. A final word of thanks should be extended to Brett Rogers, Exhibitions Coordinator at the AGDC, who was responsible for co-ordinating the project.

Eric Rowlison
Chairman, Australian Gallery Directors Council

Source: Foreword to Eva Buscombe, Australian Colonial Portraits, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart (exhibition catalogue)