John Mather (artist)
John Mather (1848 – 18 February 1916) was a Scottish-Australian
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.[2] Mather studied art at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and migrated to Australia in 1878.[1][3] He was married in 1882[4] to Miss Jessie Pines Best, a daughter of Captain James Best, a pilot of Hobson's Bay. Together they had one daughter and three[4] sons,[5] Margaret Playfair, John Allan, Louis Melville (died in infancy), and Leslie Frank Strand (died in 1919).[6]
Career
In 1880, Mather was partly responsible for the decoration of the dome of the
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:
1881 | Davis Street South Yarra,[9] | Residence, | |||
1885 | F. Hyman & J. Mather, Artists, Colormen and Stationers and Decorating Business, 69, 71, 131 Swanston Street and 84 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne [10] | Business | |||
1885 | 95 Collins Street Melbourne [11] | Studio | |||
1885 | -1888 | 33 Darling Street, South Yarra [12] | Residence | ||
1888 | 3 Murphy Street, South Yarra [13][14] | Residence | |||
1886 | -1894 | Koombahla, Healesville [15] | Residence and Studio | ||
1891 | -1910 | Austral Buildings, 117-119 Collins Street, Melbourne [16] | Studio | ||
1895 | -1900 | The Pines, Wellington Street, Brighton [17] | Residence | ||
1901 | -1911 | 156 Alma Rd, St. Kilda East [18] | Residence and Studio | ||
1912 | -1916 | Cadzow, 383 Toorak Road, South Yarra [19] | Residence and Studio, |
Students
Mr John Mather is reported to have had a wide celebrity as a teacher, and though the majority of his pupils did not aspire to more than amateur status, there are artists of repute in Melbourne now who commenced their careers in his Austral School in Collins Street.[20] As well as studio lessons he led outdoor sketching excursions, often along the coast, where students used pencil, pen and ink and watercolor. [21]
His students include:
•
•
• Miss Robertson [27]
• Lady Downer [28]
• Margaret Forrest or Lady Forrest [29]
• Lady Williams [29]
• Alexander McClintock [31]
Death
Mather died of
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?"[34]
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 modest plaque and words maintain the poignancy of a grave with no memorial.[35]
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.[36]
Collections
- National Gallery of Victoria[7]
- Art Gallery of New South Wales[7]
- Art Gallery of Western Australia[7]
- Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery[7]
- Ballarat Art Gallery[7]
- Castlemaine Art Museum[7]
- Geelong Art Gallery[7]
- Launceston Art Gallery[7]
- Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery[7]
References
- ^ MUP, 1986, pp 438-439. Retrieved 2010-04-01
- ^ a b Serle, Percival (1949). "Mather, John". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Loch Long Passenger List 8 October 1877
- ^ a b Ancestory.com John Mather family tree accessed 6 Oct 2022
- ^ "The Argus, 21 Feb 1916".
- ^ Ancestry.com John Mather Family Tree accessed 6 Oct 2022
- ^ OCLC 80568976.
- ^ Mead, Stephen F. (December 2011). "The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887". The Latrobe Journal. 88.
- ^ Prahran City Council Rates Records 1881
- ^ Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1885
- ^ Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1885 and label on reverse of 1885 watercolour (unknown title) sighted 11 December 2022
- ^ Prahran City Council Rates Records 1885 -1888
- ^ The Age, 18 Feb 1888, p 8, Situations Vacant,
- ^ Prahran City Council Rates Records 1885 -1888, Thallon's Ledger 1888 -1903, National Gallery of Victoria accessed 13 Feb 2024 and Autumn Exhibition Catalogue, Victorian Artists' Society, May 1888, p20.
- ^ Evening Journal, Latest News, 13 Dec 1886 p.2, Leader 10 Mar 1894 Fine Arts Amongst the Country Studios pp 32
- ^ Table Talk 26 March 1891 page 12, Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1900 & 1910
- ^ Brighton City Council Rates Records 1895-1900, Sands & McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1900
- ^ The Age 1 Jun1901 Art Notes p 8, Sands & McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1905-1910
- ^ Exhibition of Mr J. Mather’s Paintings 26 September 1912 Catalogue
- ^ The Age 5 Nov 1932 p4. Australian Artists of the Past
- ^ Lee, M.A, 1982 The Etched Work of Jessie C.A. Traill 1881 -1967 pp. 22 & 24
- ^ Jo Oliver, 2020, Jessie Traill A Biography, pp 29-30
- ^ The Argus 28 Sep 1929 p5, Memories of Mather
- ^ http//:adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cumbrae-stewart-janet-agnes-5842 Accessed 29 Apr2024
- ^ Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 1956. A Catalogue of Australian Paintings and Drawings in the Tasmanian Art Gallery p 44
- ^ The Argus The Argus 28 Sep 1929 p5, Memories of Mather
- ^ Table Talk, 29 May 1891. p5 Mr John Mather
- ^ The Registrar, 9 Sept 1913, p10, The Mail 13 Sept 1913 p1
- ^ a b The Mail 13 Sept 1913 p1, A Lifetime of Art
- ^ The Mail 13 Sept 1913 p1, A Lifetime of Art
- ^ The Australasian 28 Jan 1922 p34, Art Notes
- ^ Design and Art Australia Online accessed 4 Apr 2024
- ^ Site Visit 18 Aug 2022
- ^ MacGregor, L.F (28 September 1929). "The Argus". Memories of Mather A PAINTER OF SUNSHINE. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ A 2014 photograph reveals that MATHER is engraved on the face of the granite border stones, now obscured by the existing ground level. Findagrave.com accessed 24 Aug 2023
- ^ Site Inspection and commission for plaque 5 Aug 2023