Thomas Humphrey (1858 – 1922) was a Scottish-born Australian artist and photographer who was 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. Although a minor figure in the history of Australian art compared to

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 ...

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 ...

and other members of the Heidelberg School, Humphrey won praise for his work from his contemporaries, and today he is represented in the permanent collections of several of Australia's major art galleries.

Career

Born in 1858 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland, Humphrey migrated as a young boy with his family to Australia, settling 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

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. As a teenager, he studied part-time at the

National Gallery of Victoria Art 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 ...

and entered the photographic trade, where he worked with

George Pitt Morison George Pitt Morison (31 August 1861 – 4 September 1946) was an Australian painter and engraver. He is noted in particular for his painting ''The Foundation of Perth 1829'' which was commissioned as part of Western Australia's centenary celebr ...

and eventually established his own photographic studio with his wife, Alice Mills. In 1885, Humphrey befriended painter

, recently returned from art training in Europe. Together with

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 ...

and John Mather they established the

Box Hill artists' camp The Box Hill artists' camp was a site in Box Hill, Victoria, Australia favoured by a group of ''plein air'' painters in the mid to late 1880s who later became associated with the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impression ...

, devoting themselves to painting the Australian bush '' en plein air'' using

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

techniques. Humphrey went on to paint at

Eaglemont Eaglemont is an established suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Eaglemont recorded a population of 3,960 at the 202 ...

camp in 1889, and the following year moved to

Charterisville Charterisville is the name given to a property in Ivanhoe, Victoria Australia closely associated with the Heidelberg School of Australian art. David Charteris McArthur, Melbourne's first banker (with the Bank of Australasia), sportsman (player i ...

, where he lived with, and painted alongside fellow ''plein airists''

Walter Withers Walter Herbert Withers (22 October 1854 – 13 October 1914) was an English-born Australian landscape artist and a member of the Heidelberg School of Australian impressionists. Biography Withers was born at Handsworth, Staffordshire, the so ...

and

Leon Pole Leon Pole (28 June 1871 – 31 December 1951) was an Australian artist who was associated with the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian Impressionism. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Pole moved to Melbourne where, between ...

. In 1896, his riverscape ''Under a Summer Sun'', painted the previous year, was acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria at a

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 ...

show. According to art critic

Alan McLeod McCulloch Alan McLeod McCulloch AO (5 August 1907 – 21 December 1992) was one of Australia's foremost art critics for more than 60 years, an art historian and gallery director, cartoonist, and painter. Early life Alan McLeod McCulloch was born to Ann ...

, ''Under a Summer Sun'' was "probably the first Australian Impressionist work" bought by the museum. Since then, Humphrey's works have entered the permanent collections of both state and regional Australian galleries, including 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 ...

and the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Throughout much of his life, Humphrey was plagued by health problems which, together with the demands of running a photographic studio, limited his ability to paint. He died at his residence in Armadale in 1922. His first one-man show was held posthumously in 1925 at the Fine Art Society's Gallery on Exhibition Street, Melbourne. In a foreword to the exhibition's catalogue, Roberts wrote that Humphrey expressed in his works "the intimate and tender spirit of the Bush in its quiet moods", and that, despite his health problems, he "looked forward to a time of leisure for uninterrupted converse with nature."Tom Humphrey Exhibition

State Library Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

. Retrieved 20 January 2020.

Selected paintings

File:Tom Humphrey The Way to School.jpg, ''The Way to School'', 1887, Warrnambool Art Gallery File:Thomas Humphrey Under a Summer Sun 1895.jpg, ''Under a Summer Sun'', 1895, National Gallery of Victoria

References

External links

Thomas Humphrey
at Design and Art Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Tom 1858 births 1922 deaths Heidelberg School 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Australian male painters People from Richmond, Victoria Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni 19th-century Australian artists Artists from Victoria (state) Colony of Victoria people