The portrait of Mr Charles Stewart Paterson (1840-1915), by prolific Australian artist Tom Roberts (1856 – 1931) sold at a Menzies Sale 30th of June 2021 Sydney Australia.
The sale exceeded the presale top estimate A$120,000 – A$180,000 with the hammer coming down for the late 19th Century portrait of Melbourne top end designer and supporter of the arts for $190,000 plus buyer’s premium.
The result achieved by sale of this historic portraiture suggest that it is no longer just paintings of the earliest colonial settlers through to early botanists and explorers that are desirable, now more than ever Australia’s rich colonial history is capturing the global art market and proving to be in great demand.
Tim Menzies, Chairman of Menzies Art Brands Pty Ltd commented about the sale “It just goes to show that works of art can be a good investment as well as providing an opportunity to purchase iconic Australiana”, it is a unique insight into the importance of the arts and culture to Australians.
According to the auction house “Tom Roberts’ artworks almost never comes to the market” and that it is a great rarity for an Australian artist to achieve such international recognition.
Roberts is best known for his paintings from 1871 to 1875 depicting shearers at work on the sheep stations of New South Wales and Queensland. He also painted portraiture and scenes from rural, urban life in Sydney during the 1870s and “aroused great interest in Australia’s potential as a tourist destination.”
Shearing the Rams National Gallery of Victoria
Painted in the boom of the late 1880’s Melbourne, when Melbourne was considered one the wealthiest cities in the world. This portraiture brings together a leading art decorator and businessman of the 1870s-80s and a talented and early innovator of the Australian art scene.
The tie between the artist and the sitter was a well-established fact amongst artistic circles of the late 1880’s in Melbourne. Charles Paterson an amateur artist himself and supporter of the arts, and along with his brother James owned the iconic Grosvenor Chambers at 9 Collins St Melbourne.
The Patterson Brothers established one of Australia’s first private art galleries in the Chambers and had hoped the famous Grosvenor Chambers would become the centre for the arts in Melbourne, bringing together artists and art patrons alike.
The Paterson brothers which also included establish artist John Ford Paterson were well known to Roberts and his contemporaries from The Heidelberg School Movement, Charles Conder painted Paterson’s daughter, Elizabeth Stewart, while Arthur Streeton painted Hugh Paterson in 1891.
Charles Patterson’s support extended too many Australian artists including Julian Ashton, Arthur Streeton and Rupert Bunny. He was a member of the influential Melbourne “Bohemian” group who met at Macedon House between 1892-1897.
Tom Roberts had his fashionable art studio in the four-storey building, along with many other artists of the time. It is thought that this portrait was a gift to Charles for his support to the arts or maybe as payment for rent of his studio.
Many well-known artists also had studios in the building or exhibited their work there. Including Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton, Percival Ball, Charles Francis Summers, Clara Southern, Jane Sutherland, Charles Conder, E. Phillips Fox, John Longstaff, Girolamo Nerli, Louis Abrahams, Rose Walker, George Lambert, Ola Cohn, Dora Wilson, Max Meldrum, Mirka Mora and Albert Tucker.
This portrait of C S Patterson is thought to be one of Roberts finest it shows how Roberts merged his earlier academic training with the new Heidelberg school of impressionism, expressing tonal technique of light and colour. The remarkable detail shown in Roberts’ portrait of C S Patterson is a testament to Roberts unique skill and mastery of his art form.
The painting came into possession by descendants of Charles Stewart Paterson in Tasmania via his son and then grandsons who kept it in a family home before putting it up for sale.
The work is of its time, clearly depicting a man with means, and is a fine example of the artist at work at the height of his popularity.
In July 1888, it was displayed at a studio soiree organised by Roberts, along with seven other paintings that he wished to include in the selection process for the 1888–89 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition.
As reported in the Melbourne Herald: ‘The best known of the works which Mr Roberts is sending are the portraits of Professor Laurie, which attracted a good deal of attention and “A Tiff” and “Reconciliation”, “A capital portrait of Mr C.S. Paterson is also amongst the collection”.
Roberts would meet and study with some of the best European painters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and the American Edward Hopper. The European Impressionists and Post-Impressionists would also influence his art style, although Roberts always maintained his own unique style.
Roberts’s works are considered an important representation of Australian art during the time period and provides insight into how artists viewed life in Australia at this time.
Hope you enjoy this article if you would like to add any information please feel free to leave a Reply below.
Further Reading:
https://www.menziesartbrands.com/items/portrait-c-s-paterson
https://www.boxhilltownhall.com.au/artspace-exhibitions/tom-roberts