Charterisville
Encyclopedia
Charterisville is the name given to the residence and property at 77 Burke Road Ivanhoe, Victoria
Australia
closely associated with the Heidelberg School
of Australia
n art.
David Charteris McArthur, Melbourne
's first banker (with the Bank of Australasia), sportsman (player in first cricket match in Australia and later captain of the Melbourne Cricket Club
) and prominent public figure (the McArthur Gallery in the National Gallery of Victoria is named for him), purchased 84 acres (34 hectares) for £350 in 1838 from one Thomas Walker. He moved there (while keeping a "cottage" in Little Collins Street, Melbourne
) in 1840 giving it the name Charterisville. It eventually consisted of a single-storey mansion, with coachhouse, cottages, stables and winery. In 1853 he acquired an adjacent 153 acres (62 hectares) "Waverley" for £850 from his brother-in-law William Darkes. The house was extended substantially around 1868 when McArthur retired. After his death in 1887, the property (by then 108 acres) was sold at auction to John Fergusson and John Roberts, who let the south half of the house to the painter Walter Withers
, initiating a 40 year association with the arts.
"Charterisville" was owned by Francois de Castella, government viticulture expert, in the 1920s. It passed to Hubert de Castella, owner of the Yeringberg Winery
, and remained in his family until around 1960.
In its most developed form, it was built on a U-shaped plan, for the most part of local sandstone, with a long east-facing front wing and north and south wings extending to the rear forming a courtyard. An extensive cellar was built under the drawing room. The north wing was demolished in 1962 and rear verandahs enclosed.
and his family. They lived there from 1890 to 1894 before moving to nearby Heidelberg and sublet rooms to artists Hal Waugh, Arthur Bassett
, Fred Monteath, Thomas Humphrey and Leon Pole.
) and Jack Gordon. They were followed by Will Dyson
, James Peter Quinn
and Max Meldrum
.
In the summer of 1897-98 Norman Lindsay
, Lionel Lindsay
and Ernest Moffitt
spent some months living in the gardener's cottage. It was here that Lionel introduced Norman to the techniques of etching (and was possibly introduced to German black and white art by Egersdorfer). It is believed Arthur Streeton
painted his famous Still Glides the Stream here.
and Tudor St George Tucker
from 1893 to 1901 under the banner Melbourne Art School (Fox took over the lease from Withers in 1894). Students included Hugh Ramsay
.
This period was important in the history of Australian women's art. Violet Teague
, Mary Meyer and Ina Gregory were among those who studied under Fox and painted in Charterisville's then vast grounds (the property was subdivided in 1916, 1920, 1927 and 1939). Students Asquith Baker and Ursula Foster were notable subjects of Fox's own paintings.
Marshal Hall, director of the Conservatorium occupied one cottage, later occupied by Ernest Moffat.
and Alex Sass.
, watercolourist Alexander McClintock, pastellist Alf Fisher, sculptor W. Wallace Anderson, W. S. Wemyss and Frank Crozier
are recorded as having worked there.
to a script by Frank and John), it was billed as "the longest film ever made" and made a fortune for its backers. Charterisville was at the time being leased as a dairy farm by Lizzie Tait's family.
Ivanhoe, Victoria
Ivanhoe is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule. At the 2006 Census, Ivanhoe had a population of 10,600.-History:...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
closely associated with the Heidelberg School
Heidelberg School
The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. The movement has latterly been described as Australian Impressionism....
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n art.
David Charteris McArthur, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
's first banker (with the Bank of Australasia), sportsman (player in first cricket match in Australia and later captain of the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
) and prominent public figure (the McArthur Gallery in the National Gallery of Victoria is named for him), purchased 84 acres (34 hectares) for £350 in 1838 from one Thomas Walker. He moved there (while keeping a "cottage" in Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Little Collins Street is a minor street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.The street runs parallel to and to the north of Collins Street and as a narrow one way lane takes on the name of the wider main street....
) in 1840 giving it the name Charterisville. It eventually consisted of a single-storey mansion, with coachhouse, cottages, stables and winery. In 1853 he acquired an adjacent 153 acres (62 hectares) "Waverley" for £850 from his brother-in-law William Darkes. The house was extended substantially around 1868 when McArthur retired. After his death in 1887, the property (by then 108 acres) was sold at auction to John Fergusson and John Roberts, who let the south half of the house to the painter Walter Withers
Walter Withers
Walter Herbert Withers was an Australian landscape artist and a member of the Heidelberg School of Australian impressionists.- Biography :...
, initiating a 40 year association with the arts.
"Charterisville" was owned by Francois de Castella, government viticulture expert, in the 1920s. It passed to Hubert de Castella, owner of the Yeringberg Winery
Yering, Victoria
Yering is a town in Victoria, Australia, 38 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges.Yering was home to one of Victoria's first wineries.-History:...
, and remained in his family until around 1960.
In its most developed form, it was built on a U-shaped plan, for the most part of local sandstone, with a long east-facing front wing and north and south wings extending to the rear forming a courtyard. An extensive cellar was built under the drawing room. The north wing was demolished in 1962 and rear verandahs enclosed.
First Period
With the depression of the late 1880s, grand rural properties became practically valueless, and it was let to a dairy farmer, who (from September 1890 to 1904) let the south wing to painter Walter WithersWalter Withers
Walter Herbert Withers was an Australian landscape artist and a member of the Heidelberg School of Australian impressionists.- Biography :...
and his family. They lived there from 1890 to 1894 before moving to nearby Heidelberg and sublet rooms to artists Hal Waugh, Arthur Bassett
Arthur Bassett
Arthur Bassett was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who represented Wales at both rugby union and rugby league codes...
, Fred Monteath, Thomas Humphrey and Leon Pole.
Second Period
The second wave of tenants included Harry Recknall, cartoonist Heiner 'Ernest' Egersdorfer (Heinrich EgersdörferHeinrich Egersdörfer
Heinrich "Heiner" Egersdörfer , was a German-born artist, illustrator and cartoonist who settled in South Africa....
) and Jack Gordon. They were followed by Will Dyson
Will Dyson
]William Henry Dyson was an Australian illustrator and political cartoonist.-Early life:Dyson was born at Alfredton, near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, the son of George Dyson, then a hawker and later a mining engineer, and his wife Jane, née Mayall. Dyson was educated at state schools at...
, James Peter Quinn
James Peter Quinn
James Peter Quinn was an Australian portrait painter born in MelbourneHe studied part-time under Frederick McCubbin 1887–1999 then at the Melbourne National Gallery School under George Folingsby and Bernard Hall 1889–1893, then in Paris at the Académie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts from...
and Max Meldrum
Max Meldrum
Duncan Max Meldrum was a Scottish born Australian painter. He is known as the founder of Australian Tonalism, a representational style of painting, as well as his portrait work, for which he won the Archibald Prize in 1939 and 1940.-Early Life and Training:Meldrum was born in Edinburgh, Scotland,...
.
In the summer of 1897-98 Norman Lindsay
Norman Lindsay
Norman Alfred William Lindsay was an Australian artist, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist, scale modeler, and boxer. He was born in Creswick, Victoria....
, Lionel Lindsay
Lionel Lindsay
Sir Lionel Arthur Lindsay was an Australian artist and brother of artist and illustrator Norman Lindsay.-Early life:...
and Ernest Moffitt
Ernest Moffitt
Ernest Edward Moffitt was an Australian artist.- Life :Moffitt was born in Bendigo, Victoria the son of John Thomas Lowry Moffitt, draper, and his wife Mary Emily, née Rogers. He was educated at All Saints school, St. Kilda, Melbourne...
spent some months living in the gardener's cottage. It was here that Lionel introduced Norman to the techniques of etching (and was possibly introduced to German black and white art by Egersdorfer). It is believed Arthur Streeton
Arthur Streeton
Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter.-Early life:Streeton was born in Mount Duneed, near Geelong, and his family moved to Richmond in 1874. In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the National Gallery School.Streeton was influenced by French...
painted his famous Still Glides the Stream here.
Third Period
Australia's first recognised summer school of art was run by E. Phillips FoxE. Phillips Fox
- Education :Fox was born on 12 March 1865 to Alexander Fox and Rosetta Phillips at 12 Victoria Parade in Fitzroy, Melbourne, into a legal family whose firm, DLA Phillips Fox, still exists. He studied art at the National Gallery School in Melbourne from 1878 until 1886 under G. F...
and Tudor St George Tucker
Tudor St George Tucker
Tudor St George Tucker was born in Finchley in Middlesex the son of Captain Charlton Nassau Tucker, a retired cavalry officer in the East India Company's service. He came to Melbourne in 1881 in search of a healthier climate...
from 1893 to 1901 under the banner Melbourne Art School (Fox took over the lease from Withers in 1894). Students included Hugh Ramsay
Hugh Ramsay
Hugh Ramsay , was an Australian artist.Ramsay was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son of John Ramsay. He moved with his family to Melbourne in 1878. He was educated at Essendon Grammar School, and joined classes at the National Gallery of Victoria at age 16 under Lindsay Bernard Hall and became one of...
.
This period was important in the history of Australian women's art. Violet Teague
Violet Teague
Violet Helen Evangeline Teague was an Australian portrait painter and designer of murals, born in Melbourne and educated at the Presbyterian Ladies College, Melbourne....
, Mary Meyer and Ina Gregory were among those who studied under Fox and painted in Charterisville's then vast grounds (the property was subdivided in 1916, 1920, 1927 and 1939). Students Asquith Baker and Ursula Foster were notable subjects of Fox's own paintings.
Marshal Hall, director of the Conservatorium occupied one cottage, later occupied by Ernest Moffat.
Fourth Period
Fox and Tucker left for Europe in 1902. The new tenants included cartoonists Alfred VincentAlfred Vincent
Alfred James Vincent was an Australian cartoonist born in Launceston, Tasmania.Alf Vincent contributed work to Melbourne Punch from 1895, in 1896 succeeding Tom Carrington as feature artist....
and Alex Sass.
Fifth Period
Etcher John ShirlowJohn Shirlow
John Alexander Thomas Shirlow was an Australian artist.Shirlow was born in Sunbury, Victoria, son of Robert Shirlow, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, who had come from Ireland and followed many occupations in the new land without much success...
, watercolourist Alexander McClintock, pastellist Alf Fisher, sculptor W. Wallace Anderson, W. S. Wemyss and Frank Crozier
Frank Crozier
Frank Rossiter Crozier was a war records artist who is represented in the Australian War Memorial's art collection along with other Official War Artists such as H...
are recorded as having worked there.
Subsequent history
Charterisville had a later role in the art history of Australia: outdoor scenes for the very successful 1905 movie The Story of the Kelly Gang were largely filmed there. The work of the Tait brothers (produced by John Tait and Nevin Tait, directed by Charles TaitCharles Tait
Charles Tait was an American politician. A Democratic Republican, he served as a United States Senator from Georgia and later as a United States federal judge.-Early life:...
to a script by Frank and John), it was billed as "the longest film ever made" and made a fortune for its backers. Charterisville was at the time being leased as a dairy farm by Lizzie Tait's family.
Sources
- McCulloch, Alan Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Hutchinson Ltd London 1968 ISBN 0-09-081420-7