Ernest William Buckmaster (1897–1968) was an Australian artist born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. He won the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

in 1932 with a portrait of Sir William Irvine. He also served as an Australian war artist during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Life and career

Buckmaster was born in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

suburb of

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

on 3 July 1897. He was the eldest son of Harry Amos Buckmaster, straw-hat manufacturer, and his wife Letitia Martha née' Chandler. He attended a state primary school at Box Hill where he showed drawing skills at an early age. Buckmaster was apprenticed to a signwriter in 1913. His poor physique made him unsuitable for service in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. His employer, an amateur painter, suggested he undertake art training. Buckmaster studied at the

National Gallery School The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was a private fine arts college founded in 1867 and was Australia's leading art school of 50 years. It is also referred to as the 'National Gallery ...

from 1918 to 1924. There his teachers included

Lindsay Bernard Hall Lindsay Bernard Hall (28 December 1859 – 14 February 1935) was an English-born Australian artist, teacher and art gallery director. Early life and career Hall was born at Garston, Liverpool, England, the son of a broker of the same famil ...

and W.B. McInnes. He emerged as an accomplished painter of traditional

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s and

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

with a substantial work-rate and output. Large commissioned oil paintings work took longer. His Archibald prize winning portrait took fourteen sittings with the subject before it was finished. His first solo exhibition took place at the Athenaeum Gallery in Melbourne in February 1926. His financial position was such that he had to ask the

framer A framer is someone who frames (shapes or gives shape to), or someone who constructs."Framer". def. 1. and "Frame, v." def. 5 and 7. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009 Building ind ...

to prepare them for hanging on credit. The paintings sold well, with one bought by the director of the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

for its collection. His work is popular in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

where public

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

and private collectors hold examples of his paintings. Buckmaster disliked

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

, criticising it in his book and in letters to newspapers. A member of the

Victorian Artists Society The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and gallery hire exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Academy of Arts (previously Vi ...

, he sold nineteen paintings exhibited with them between 1919 and 1924. He continued to be associated with the V.A.S. as a councillor (1929–30) and exhibitor (till 1943). In 1930 he left Australia on a year long study tour to Europe. He visited Europe again in 1938. His portrait of the

lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, Sir William Irvine, won the Archibald prize for 1932. The following year he held solo exhibits in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. He was a foundation member of the

Australian Academy of Art The Australian Academy of Art was a conservative Australian government-authorised art organisation which operated for ten years between 1937 and 1946 and staged annual exhibitions. Its demise resulted from opposition by Modernist artists, especiall ...

. In 1936 he was commissioned to paint a portrait of Sir James Mitchell, the lieutenant-governor of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and his portrait of Miss Jessica Harcourt, known as "Australia's loveliest girl" was a finalist in the 1936 Archibald Prize. Buckmaster was a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

official war artist for the

Australian military The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

's Military History Section. This took him to Singapore to paint the Japanese surrender. These paintings are held by the

Australian War Memorial, Canberra The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving per ...

. He married Dorothy Laura Cook on 12 February 1936. They divorced on 15 February 1939 and a week later he married Florence Botting in Melbourne. Buckmaster made two extended trips to New Zealand in the 1940s and 1950s at the invitation of Henry Kelliher, Managing Director of

Dominion Breweries DB Breweries is a New Zealand-based brewing company, owned by Heineken Asia Pacific. Founded in 1930 by Sir Henry Kelliher and W Joseph Coutts, the partners purchased Levers and Co. and the Waitemata Brewery Co. in Otahuhu. Asia Pacific Breweri ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, who had seen Buckmaster's 1944 exhibition at the David Jones Gallery, Sydney. On the latter visit he wrote that he had driven 6,000 miles throughout the country to paint landscapes. He died on 18 October 1968 at his home at

Warrandyte Warrandyte is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Warrandyte recorded a population of 5,541 at the . Warrandy ...

. He was survived by his wife and their five children. His grave is in the Lilydale cemetery. Buckmaster's self-portrait, which was a finalist in the 1936 Archibald Prize, is in the

Art Gallery of New South Wales 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 importa ...

. Some of Buckmaster's work is on extended loan from his family to The Hotel Windsor in Melbourne. As well as the Archibald prize he received the National Gallery of Victoria Award (1941) and twice won the Albury Art Prize (1950 and 1963). Although an accomplished painter of portraits and still life subjects, he is best known for his landscapes. Those he generally painted ''

En plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

'' rather than from photographs. One of his paintings sold for Aus$27,025 in 2003. The average price of 1,185 of his paintings recently sold at auction prior to May 2021 was AUS$5,147

External links

Archibald Prize winners''Self Portrait'' of Ernest Buckmaster, finalist in 1936 Archibald PrizeErnest Buckmaster interviewed by Hazel de Berg, 1965 (sound recording in 2 parts) available onlineErnest Buckmaster (1951), ''The art of Ernest Buckmaster'', Melbourne, LothianBarry Ellam & Norman Buckmaster (1993), ''Art by Ernest Buckmaster'', Box Hill, Melbourne, Evelyn Fine Arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckmaster, Ernest 1897 births 1968 deaths Archibald Prize winners Australian people of World War II Australian portrait painters World War II artists Australian war artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Australian landscape painters Australian still life painters Australian male painters People from Hawthorn, Victoria Artists from Melbourne National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni

Life and career

See also

External links

References