Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
John Russell
Dr Will Maloney 1887
oil on canvas
48.5 × 37.0 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1943
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Where possible, the image must be reproduced in full (no cropping or over-printing). If you wish to use a detail of the work, a full reproduction of the work must also be reproduced elsewhere in the publication.
While the NGV believes this work to be in the Public Domain, it is the responsibility of the publisher to ensure that no further permissions are required for use.
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Dr Will Maloney
1887
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
48.5 × 37.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1943
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Australian medical student William Maloney was a friend of Russell and Tom Roberts in London in the early 1880s. This work was a gift to Maloney on his return to Australia in 1887, and Russell may have hoped that Roberts, back in Melbourne, would see it as a demonstration of Russell’s new Impressionist technique. In the background is an East Asian scroll, indicative of Russell’s admiration of Japanese art at this time.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in grey paint l.l.: AMITE / JULY 1887 / WILL MALONEY MEDICUS JULY 1887 / J P RUSSELL PICTOR PARIS
Accession Number
1242-4
Department
Australian Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation
Subjects (general)
Law, Civics and Protest Portraits
Subjects (specific)
half figures Maloney, William Robert members of Parliament men (male humans) moustaches physicians
Movements
Australian Impressionism Impressionism
Frame
Not original, mid 20th century
Frame
Framing the paintings by John Russell had been on the agenda for a number of years.
John Russell’s portrait of Dr Will Maloney was painted in Paris in 1887. It entered the collection as a purchase in 1943.
The decision to reframe the painting came in preparation for the exhibition, Australian Impressionists in France in 2013.
The former framing, which is thought to be the frame in which it came into the collection, was a simplified profile that could be found on paintings from the first half of the twentieth century.
The work is situated in a period in which Russell had established himself in Paris having completed his training with both Legros and Cormond.
The framing used around this time is varied and draws upon the Louis XIV revival gallery frames that appear on paintings by artists such as Monet in exhibitions at the Petit Gallery and simpler artist designed and made frames that the early Impressionists were experimenting with.
The frame prototype for Dr Will Maloney is based on the passé partout frame with a reeded back edge that was designed by Edgar Degas.
The choice of this frame style was a little more ambiguous than other re-framing work undertaken as part of this project however it draws upon an original prototype from an early Impressionist artist who used this moulding as a framing style.
The frame was made in the studio of Frames and Furniture at the NGV.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2013.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Reproduction - crafted by the NGV
Date
2013
Materials
Timber profile and gold leaf