John Mather (artist) explained

John Mather (1848 – 18 February 1916) was a Scottish-Australian plein-air painter and etcher.[1]

Early life

Mather was born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, son of John Mather, a surveyor, and his wife Margaret, née Allan.[1] Mather worked as a house decorator.Mather studied art at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and migrated to Australia in 1878.[1] [2] He was married in 1882[3] to Miss Jessie Pines Best, a daughter of Captain James Best, a pilot of Hobson's Bay. Together they had one daughter and three sons; Margaret Playfair, John Allan, Louis Melville (died in infancy), and Leslie Frank Strand (died in 1919).[4] [5]

Career

In 1880, Mather was partly responsible for the decoration of the dome of the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne. He joined the bohemian Buonarotti Club, camping with other members on plein-air painting expeditions, and from 1886 served, with Frederick McCubbin, Louis Abrahams and Jane Sutherland, on its exhibition selection committee established by Tom Roberts.[6] In 1892 he was appointed to the board of trustees of the Public Library, Museums and National Gallery of Victoria,[1] then was a founding member of the Victorian Artists' Society, and its president in 1893–1900, 1906–1908 and 1911.[1] Mather was a member of the Felton Bequest Committee from 1905 to 1916 and as trustee, strongly supported Australian art.[1]

As a painter, Mather was also involved in the bohemian Artists' Camps of Sydney. In 1912 along with Frederick McCubbin, Max Meldrum, Walter Withers Mather formed the breakaway Australian Art Association.[1]

Three of Mather's own paintings, Autumn in the Fitzroy Gardens in oils, and Morning, Lake Omeo and Wintry Weather, Yarra Glen, both watercolours, were purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria.[1]

Residences, Studios and other Addresses

Mather had a number of homes, studios and other addresses throughout his career, including:

187983 Swanston Street Melbourne[7] Address
18805 Royal Terrace Nicholson Street[8] Address
18811 Eaton Terrace Grattan Street Carlton[9] Address
1881Davis Street South Yarra,[10] Residence
1881 - 188795 Collins Street Melbourne [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Studio
1885- 188833 Darling Street, South Yarra [16] Residence
1885Artistic Stationary Company (Buxton's) incorporating business of F. Hyman & J. Mather, Artists, Colormen and Stationers and Decorating Business, 69, 71, 131 Swanston Street and 84 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne [17] Business
1886- 1888Owned property in Castella Street (now Maroondah Highway) (1879) Lilydale Road overlooking the river (1880) and Blannin Street Healesville (1881) [18] Studio [19]
1888- 18893 Murphy Street, South Yarra [20] [21] [22] [23] Residence
1889c.1894Koombahla, Healesville [24] [25] [26] Residence and for some years prior a studio
1891- 1891Grosvenor Chambers, 9 Collins Street Melbourne(Occupied Tom Robert's studio)[27] Studio
1891c.1913 Austral Building 117-119 Collins Street, Melbourne [28] Studio
1895 c.1901 The Pines, Wellington Street, Brighton [29] Residence
1900- 1902136 Alma Rd East St. Kilda (Carhue School for Girls)[30] Studio
1901- 1912 156 Alma Rd, East St. Kilda [31] Residence and Studio
1912 - 1916Cadzow, 383 Toorak Road, South Yarra [32] [33] Residence and Studio

Students

Mr John Mather is reported to have, had a wide celebrity as a teacher, and ... there are artists of repute in Melbourne now who commenced their careers in his Austral School in Collins Street.[34] As well as studio lessons he led outdoor sketching excursions, often along the coast, where students used pencil, pen and ink and watercolor. [35]

His students include:

Death

Mather died of diabetes at his home, Cadzow, South Yarra, Victoria on 18 February 1916; he was buried in the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery[1] and lay in a grave with no memorial for more than 100 years.[49]

Written just thirteen years after his death, "The war claimed his only son and his daughter who was well known in Melbourne music circles, lives now in the United States. It is as if "the place thereof knoweth him no more " But how can an artist ever be forgotten as long as human eyes are irresistibly drawn to the quiet beauty of his pictures on the wall?"[50]

In July 2023 a small plaque was placed on the grave simply stating:

Mr John Mather 1848 – 1916 The beauty of his Art endures.

The words, his Art endures, refers to his painting and etching but also the art he nurtured as a mentor, teacher and one of the founding fathers of art in Victoria.[51]

Collections

Notes and References

Notes

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Judy Blyth, 'Mather, John (1848? - 1916)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 438-439. Retrieved 2010-04-01
  2. Loch Long Passenger List 8 October 1877
  3. Ancestory.com John Mather family tree accessed 6 Oct 2022
  4. News: The Argus, 21 Feb 1916.
  5. Ancestry.com John Mather Family Tree accessed 6 Oct 2022
  6. Mead . Stephen F. . December 2011 . The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887 . The Latrobe Journal . 88.
  7. Victorian Academy of Arts, 1879 The Ninth Exhibition Catalogue p.13
  8. Victorian Academy of Arts, 1879 The Tenth Exhibition Catalogue p.14
  9. Victorian Academy of Arts, 1879 The Eleventh Exhibition Catalogue p.15
  10. Prahran City Council Rates Records 1881
  11. The Argus 20 Aug 1881 Page 10 Advertising
  12. Victorian Academy of Arts The Twelfth Exhibition Mar 1882
  13. Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1885
  14. Evening Journal, Latest News, 13 Dec 1886 p.2
  15. Victorian Academy of Arts, Apr 1887 The Seventeenth Exhibition Catalogue p.14
  16. Prahran City Council Rates Records 1885 -1888
  17. Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1885
  18. Symonds S., Healesville, History of the Hills, Lilydale, Pioneer Design Studio, 1982 p.24-25
  19. Evening Journal, Latest News, 13 Dec 1886 p.2 notes Mr J. Mather of, Healesville and, Collins Street East, Melbourne
  20. Prahran City Council Rates Records 1885 -1888
  21. Thallon's Ledger 1888 -1903, National Gallery of Victoria accessed 13 Feb 2024
  22. The Age, 18 Feb 1888, p.8 Situations Vacant
  23. Autumn Exhibition Catalogue, Victorian Artists' Society May 1888 p.20
  24. The Age 31 Mar 1888 Country Sketches p.4 refers to John Mather having studio but does not mention a residence
  25. Table Talk 2 Nov 1888 p.3 notes John Mather has had a studio at Healesville for some years and is now building a residence.
  26. Leader 10 Mar 1894 Fine Arts Amongst the Country Studios p. 32
  27. Table Talk 27 Feb 1891 page 7
  28. Table Talk 26 March 1891 page 12, Victorian Artists Society Exhibition Catalogues 1898 -1913, Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1900 & 1910
  29. Brighton City Council Rates Records 1895-1900, Sands & McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1900
  30. Victorian Artists Society Exhibition Catalogues 1900,1901 & 1902, The Argus 5 Oct 1901, Advertisements p. 14
  31. Victorian Artists Society Exhibition Catalogues 1903 - 1912, The Age 1 Jun 1901 Art Notes p 8, Sands & McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1905-1910
  32. The Bulletin, Vol.33 No.1668 1 Feb 1912 p.22 Melbourne Chatter
  33. Exhibition of Mr J. Mather’s Paintings 26 September 1912 Catalogue
  34. The Age 5 Nov 1932 p4. Australian Artists of the Past
  35. Lee, M.A, 1982 The Etched Work of Jessie C.A. Traill 1881 -1967 pp. 22 & 24
  36. Jo Oliver, 2020, Jessie Traill A Biography, pp 29-30
  37. The Argus 28 Sep 1929 p5, Memories of Mather
  38. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cumbrae-stewart-janet-agnes-5842 Accessed 29 Apr2024
  39. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 1956. A Catalogue of Australian Paintings and Drawings in the Tasmanian Art Gallery p 44
  40. The Argus The Argus 28 Sep 1929 p5, Memories of Mather
  41. Table Talk, 29 May 1891. p5 Mr John Mather
  42. The Registrar, 9 Sept 1913, p10, The Mail 13 Sept 1913 p1
  43. The Mail 13 Sept 1913 p1, A Lifetime of Art
  44. The Mail 13 Sept 1913 p1, A Lifetime of Art
  45. The Australasian 28 Jan 1922 p34, Art Notes
  46. Design and Art Australia Online accessed 4 Apr 2024
  47. Punch 27 Jun 1901 p.9 Mr James Fawcett
  48. The Bulletin, 18 Feb 1948 vol. 69, no. 3549, pp. 18.
  49. Site Visit 18 Aug 2022
  50. News: MacGregor . L.F . The Argus . 18 November 2022 . Memories of Mather A PAINTER OF SUNSHINE . 28 Sep 1929.
  51. Site Inspection and commission for plaque 5 Aug 2023
  52. National Gallery of Australia website collections search accessed 17 August 2024
  53. Book: McCulloch . Alan . The new McCulloch's encyclopedia of Australian art . McCulloch . Susan . McCulloch Childs . Emily . AUS Art Editions ; The Miegunyah Press . 2006 . 0-522-85317-X . 4th . Fitzroy . 667 . 80568976.
  54. Queensland Art Gallery website collections search accessed 17 August 2024
  55. Benalla Art Gallery website collections search accessed 29 May 2024
  56. Newcastle Art Gallery website collections search accessed 29 May 2024
  57. Latrobe Regional Gallery website collections search accessed 17 August 2024
  58. National Library of New Zealand website collections search accessed 17 August 2024
  59. State Library of Victoria website collections search accessed 17 August 2024
  60. Bayside Gallery website collections search accessed 17 August 2024

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