The Royal Art Society of New South Wales, or Royal Art Society of NSW, was established in 1880 as the Art Society of New South Wales by a group of artists including Arthur and George Collingridge, with the aim of creating an Australian school of painting, and separate from the NSW Academy of Art. [1] Their first exhibition was held in the Garden Palace. In 1902 the Society merged with the Society of Artists and received royal assent from King Edward VII to add "Royal" to their name. [2]
Over the years, the society gave tuition to and held exhibitions for artists such as Charles Conder, George Lambert, Sydney Long, Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, Norman Lindsay, Hans Heysen, John Longstaff, Margaret Preston, W. Lister Lister, Elioth Gruner, and many others. [3] It celebrated 140 years of existence in 2020. [4] Patrons and artists were made life-long members, such as Hulda Marshall, Thomas Marshall, Dame Eadith Walker and Dame Nellie Melba.
William Beckwith McInnes was an Australian portrait painter, winner of the Archibald Prize seven times for his traditional style paintings. He was acting-director at the National Gallery of Victoria and an instructor in its art school.
Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. It is located on the Olympic Highway at the point where it crosses the Muttama Creek, between Junee and Cowra. Its railway station is on the Main Southern line, part of the Melbourne-to-Sydney line.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most important public gallery in Sydney and one of the largest in Australia.
George Washington Thomas Lambert was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait painting and as a war artist during the First World War.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), formerly the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, is located on George Street in The Rocks neighbourhood of Sydney. The museum is housed in the Stripped Classical/Art Deco-styled former Maritime Services Board (MSB) building on the western side of Circular Quay. A modern wing was added in 2012.
Julian Rossi Ashton was an English-born Australian artist and teacher. He is best known for founding the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and encouraging Australian painters to capture local life and scenery en plein air, greatly influencing the impressionist Heidelberg School movement.
William Edwin Pidgeon, aka Bill Pidgeon and Wep, (1909–1981) was an Australian painter who won the Archibald Prize three times. After his death, cartoonist and journalist Les Tanner described him: "He was everything from serious draftsman, brilliant cartoonist, social observer, splittingly funny illustrator to multiple Archibald prizewinner.
Sir Lionel Arthur Lindsay was an Australian artist, known for his paintings and etchings.
The Australian Music Centre (AMC), founded as Australia Music Centre in 1974 and known as Sounds Australian in the 1990s, is a national organisation promoting and supporting art music in Australia. It operates mainly as a service organisation, and co-hosts the Art Music Awards along with APRA AMCOS. It also publishes Resonate Magazine.
Alethea Mary Proctor was an Australian painter, print maker, designer and teacher who upheld the ideas of 'taste' and 'style'.
Roland Wakelin was a New Zealand-born Australian painter and teacher.
Sir John William Ashton, OBE, ROI was a prolific Australian Impressionist artist and director of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1937 to 1943.
The Society of Artists was an influential Sydney based group of progressive artists who staged annual exhibitions from 1895 to the 1960s. The Society included many of Australia's best artists of the time. It lapsed during the mid 1960s.
Florence Aline Rodway was an Australian artist best known for her portraits. Born in the Tasmanian city of Hobart, she was the second of six children to Leonard Rodway and Louisa Susan, née Phillips. She studied painting at the Hobart Technical College ; after two years her work was sent to London, and she was awarded a three-year scholarship to study painting at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. She is best known for having painted portraits of notable figures in Australian history, including Dame Nellie Melba, William Bridges, J. F. Archibald and Henry Lawson.
Barbara Tribe (1913–2000) was an Australian-born artist who spent most of her career in Cornwall. She is regarded as a significant twentieth-century portrait artist, working both in painting and sculpture.
Mary Stoddard, was a Scottish-born artist who spent twenty years in Australia and was known for her still life paintings, miniatures and full-size portraits, including two of Sir Henry Parkes.
Portia Stranston Geach was an Australian artist and feminist. She was a founder and a president of the New South Wales Housewives' Association, as well as a president of the Federal Association of Australian Housewives. The Portia Geach Memorial Award, established by a legacy from Geach's sister, is Australia's most significant prize for Australian female portrait artists.
Sophie (Sophia) Elizabeth Steffanoni (1873–1906) was an Australian born artist who produced works in the style of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism.
John Samuel Watkins, generally referred to as J. S. Watkins or "Watty" to his students, was an artist who for forty years ran his own art school in Sydney, Australia.
Hulda Marshall was an artist, arts patron and philanthropist.