Louis Abrahams (1852 – 2 December 1903) was a British-born Australian tobacconist, art patron, painter and etcher associated with the

Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has latterly been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and ...

art movement, also known as Australian Impressionism.

Early life

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, Abrahams arrived in

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 ...

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 ...

, Australia, as an eight-year-old with his family in 1860.

Career and association with the Heidelberg School

Later that decade, Abrahams attended the Artisans School of Design in

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, where he met

Frederick McCubbin Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...

. The pair formed a close friendship and later enrolled at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in 1871, where they founded a club to study the nude. McCubbin named his first son Louis after Abrahams, who reciprocated by naming his son Frederick. Both artists, along with fellow National Gallery student

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe i ...

, established the Box Hill artists' camp in 1885. Later accompanied by

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, sou ...

Charles Conder Charles Edward Conder (24 October 1868 – 9 February 1909) was an English-born painter, lithographer and designer. He emigrated to Australia and was a key figure in the Heidelberg School, arguably the beginning of a distinctively Australi ...

and others, the group sought to capture the Australian bush by painting it ''

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 ...

''. By the time the group relocated to Mount Eagle estate (Eaglemont) near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

in 1888, Abrahams had less time for art due to the demands of the family cigar business. He still made trips to visit his friends at Eaglemont, and supplied them with many cigar-box lids for painting ''impressions''. 183 of these cigar-box paintings were exhibited by Roberts, Streeton and Conder in the landmark

9 by 5 Impression Exhibition The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition was an art exhibition in Melbourne, Australia. It opened on 17 August 1889 at Buxton's Rooms on Swanston Street and featured 183 works, the majority of which were painted by Charles Conder, Tom Roberts and Arthur ...

of 1889. Abrahams sat for some of McCubbin's best-known paintings, including '' Down on His Luck'' (1889) and ''A Bush Burial'' (1890), and he is the subject of portraits by McCubbin, Roberts, Streeton,

Julian Ashton Julian Rossi Ashton (27 January 185127 April 1942) 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 '' ...

, John Mather and others. Due to his financial support of the Australian impressionists, Abrahams, along with his brother and business partner Lawrence, is regarded as an important patron of early Australian art.

Death and legacy

Abrahams suffered from depression and committed suicide on 2 December 1903. His body was found in a basement toilet at his factory, "with a bullet wound in the head and a revolver clenched in both hands". Abrahams' personal art collection was passed down to his grandson, architect

Sir Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie (''née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his be ...

, best-known for designing the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

complex on London's

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

."One of the greatest early patrons of Australian art"
(12 December 2017), Christie's. Retrieved 31 July 2018. Abrahams Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Conder is named in his honour.

Gallery

File:Tom Roberts - The artists' camp, 1886.jpg, Roberts' 1886 painting ''The Artists' Camp'' shows Abrahams and McCubbin File:Down on his luck.jpg, Abrahams sat as the disheartened

swagman A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag. The term originated in Australia in the 19th century and was later used in New Zealan ...

for McCubbin's 1889 painting '' Down on His Luck''

References

External links

Louis Abrahams
at 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, Louis 1852 births 1903 suicides Heidelberg School Australian Jews Australian tobacconists 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Suicides by firearm in Victoria (Australia) 1903 deaths Australian male painters Artists from Melbourne English emigrants to colonial Australia