The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition was an

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhib ...

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 ...

, Australia. It opened on 17 August 1889 at Buxton's Rooms on

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...

and featured 183 works, the majority of which were painted by

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

of 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. The exhibition's name references the dimensions of most of the paintings—, the size of the cigar box lids upon which many of the works were painted—as well as the

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 employed by the artists. The majority of the 9 by 5s were painted over the autumn and winter of 1889, which is reflected in the tones and weather effects of many of the landscapes. The rural suburb of

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 ...

, where Streeton had established an artists' camp the previous year, is featured in many of the works. Melbourne's urban life and culture are also depicted, with landmarks such as Princess Theatre, the Old Treasury and the Burke and Wills statue making appearances, as well as the city's trams and games of

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. The exhibition created much lively commentary at the time and is now seen as a "celebrated event in Australian art history". 9 by 5s continue to appear on the market; in 2019, Roberts' ''She-Oak and Sunlight'' sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

for A$770,000. In 2012, to mark the 123rd anniversary of the exhibition, arts benefactor Max Carter donated four 9 by 5s (valued at over A$3,000,000) to the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

, the largest group of 9 by 5s ever given to an Australian public institution."Art Gallery of South Australia receives largest group of '9 by 5' paintings"
''Art Daily''. Retrieved 25 October 2012.

Gallery of 9 by 5s

File:Charles Conder - All on a summer's day - Google Art Project.jpg, Conder, ''All on a summer's day'', 1888, National Gallery of Australia File:Charles Conder An Impressionist.jpg, Conder, ''An Impressionist (Tom Roberts)'', 1889, Art Gallery of New South Wales File:Charles Conder - Arcadia, 1889.jpg, Conder, ''Arcadia'', 1889, private collection File:Charles Conder - Centennial Choir at Sorrento, 1889.jpg, Conder, ''Centennial Choir at Sorrento'', 1889, private collection File:Charles Conder - Dandenongs from Heidelberg - Google Art Project.jpg, Conder, ''Dandenongs from Heidelberg'', 1889,

File:Charles Conder - Going Home, 1889.jpg, Conder, ''Going Home'', 1889, National Gallery of Australia File:Charles Conder - Herrick's Blossoms - Google Art Project.jpg, Conder, ''Herrick's Blossoms'', 1888, National Gallery of Australia File:Charles Conder - How we lost poor Flossie - Google Art Project.jpg, Conder, ''How We Lost Poor Flossie'', 1889, Art Gallery of South Australia File:Charles Conder - Impressionists' camp - Google Art Project.jpg, Conder, ''Impressionists' camp'', 1889,

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

File:Charles Conder - Riddell's Creek - Google Art Project.jpg, Conder, ''Riddell's Creek'', 1889, National Gallery of Australia File:Charles Conder Wreck.jpg, Conder, ''The Wreck'', 1889, private collection File:Tom Roberts - Across the Dandenongs, 1889.jpg, Roberts, ''Across the Dandenongs'', 1889,

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 ...

File:Tom Roberts - Andante - Google Art Project.jpg, Roberts, ''Andante'', 1889, Art Gallery of South Australia File:Tom Roberts - By the Treasury, 1889.jpg, Roberts, ''By the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

'', 1889, National Gallery of Victoria File:Tom Roberts - Evening train to Hawthorn - Google Art Project.jpg, Roberts, ''Evening train to

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 ...

'', 1889, Art Gallery of New South Wales File:Tom Roberts La favorita.jpg, Roberts, ''La Favorita'', 1889, private collection File:Tom Roberts First Tram.jpg, Roberts, ''First Tram'', 1889, private collection File:Tom Roberts - Fog, Thames Embankment - Google Art Project.jpg, Roberts, ''Fog, Thames Embankment'', 1884, Art Gallery of New South Wales File:Tom Roberts - Going home - Google Art Project.jpg, Roberts, ''Going Home'', 1889, National Gallery of Australia File:Tom Roberts Harpers Weekly.jpg, Roberts, ''Harper's Weekly'', 1889, National Gallery of Victoria File:Roberts mailman to omeo.jpg, Roberts, ''The Mailman to Omeo'', 1889, private collection File:Tom Roberts - Mentone, 1889.jpg, Roberts, ''Mentone'', 1889, National Gallery of Victoria File:Tom Roberts She-Oak and Sunlight.jpg, Roberts, ''She-Oak and Sunlight'', 1889, National Gallery of Victoria File:Tom Roberts Saplings.jpg, Roberts, ''Saplings'', 1889, National Gallery of Australia File:Tom Roberts Violin Lesson.jpg, Roberts, ''The violin lesson'', 1889, National Gallery of Victoria File:Arthur Streeton Brander's Ferry.jpg, Streeton, ''Brander's Ferry'', 1889, private collection File:Arthur Streeton Evening Game 1889.jpg, Streeton, ''Evening game'', 1889, private collection File:Arthur Streeton - Hoddle St., 10 p.m. - Google Art Project.jpg, Streeton, ''Hoddle Street to Junction'', 1889, National Gallery of Australia File:Arthur Streeton Impression Golden Summer.jpg, Streeton, ''Impression for ′Golden Summer′'', 1888, Benalla Art Gallery File:Arthur Streeton National Game.jpg, Streeton, ''The National Game'', 1889,

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 ...

File:Arthur Streeton - Orange, blue and white (portrait of Keith) - Google Art Project.jpg, Streeton, ''Orange, blue and white'', 1889, Art Gallery of South Australia File:Arthur Streeton - Pastoral in yellow and grey- a colour impression of Templestowe - Google Art Project.jpg, Streeton, ''Pastoral in yellow and grey- a colour impression of

Templestowe Templestowe is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Templestowe recorded a population of 16,966 at the . The s ...

'', 1889, National Gallery of Australia File:Arthur Streeton The Road Up the Hill c 1889.jpg, Streeton, ''The Road Up the Hill'', 1889,

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Gallery ...

File:Arthur Streeton Road to Ranges.jpg, Streeton, ''A Road to the Ranges'', 1889, Art Gallery of New South Wales File:Arthur Streeton - Princess, Burke & Wills, 1889.jpg, Streeton ''Princess & Burke & Wills'', 1889, National Gallery of Victoria File:Arthur Streeton - Residence of J. Walker, Esq., Gembrook, 1889.jpg, Streeton, ''Residence of J. Walker, Esq.,

Gembrook Gembrook is a town in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Gembrook recorded a population of 2,559 at the 2021 census. Gembrook is a popular ...

'', 1888, National Gallery of Victoria File:Arthur Streeton - Sandridge - Google Art Project.jpg, Streeton, ''Sandridge'', 1888, National Gallery of Australia File:Arthur Streeton - Windy and Wet, 1889.jpg, Streeton, ''Windy and Wet'', 1889, National Gallery of Victoria

References

External links

Exhibition catalogue
designed by Charles Conder
9 by 5 exhibition
at the Heidelberg Artists Society {{coord missing, Victoria (Australia) Heidelberg School 1889 in Australia Art exhibitions in Australia Paintings by Tom Roberts Arts in Melbourne