In Late 1864 the Trustees of the Melbourne Public Library received two shipments of paintings via the Dover Castle1 and the True Briton.2 All but two paintings had been selected by Sir Charles Eastlake, President of the Royal Academy and Director of the National Gallery, London. These were to be put on exhibition in late December 1864 in the new, but temporary, space in the northern end of what is now called the Queen's Hall.3

While Eastlake was assembling the paintings, it was felt that some small gesture should be made towards the artists resident in the Australian colonies. In March 1864, the following notice appeared in the Victoria Government Gazette:

The Government of Victoria has determined to offer the sum of £200 for the purchase of a painting or paintings, by an artist or artists resident in Australia, provided such painting or paintings possess sufficient merit to qualify it or them to compare favourably with the works of eminent living artists of Europe. Such painting or paintings to be placed in the Public Gallery of Art of Victoria.

Every picture submitted must be painted and finished in oil, on canvas, panel, or other suitable material, or in watercolours. The subject of the picture is left to the judgement and taste of the artist. The pictures will be received in Melbourne, at the Museum of Building Materials, Queen-street, between the 15^th of October and the 15^th of November 1864, and will be publically exhibited on and after the 1^st December in that year for one month. Before the expiration of that period, the judges appointed to determine upon those to be purchased will decide as to which, if any, be so purchased. Each picture must be accompanied with a letter, stating the name and address of the artist, and price required for the picture. Every reasonable care will be taken of the pictures sent in, but the Government of Victoria will not be responsible for any loss of or any injury to them. Public notice will be given stating when the pictures may be removed from the place of exhibition. The carriage, delivery, removal, unpacking and packing of the pictures must be provided for and done by the artists, or their agents, at their own risk and cost.4

The last day for presenting the paintings was moved to 15 December and a number of artists delivered their own works directly to the Library. The exhibition opened on Christmas Eve.5

The result of the above announcement was to create two exhibitions in tandem, each of a distinctly different nature: the paintings from Europe that had arrived as part of the Library's collection, and the paintings for the competition. The former group is well documented,6 as the works are still part of the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, with the exception of Baxter's Rosebud of England, which was de-accessioned and auctioned off in 1941 at Leonard Joel's. The latter group has been little discussed, as there was never a list of the paintings or their makers. Until now, only Nicholas Chevalier's Buffalo Ranges, Ovens District is known to have been in the exhibition as it was the winning painting.

However, by some quirk of fate, a collection of papers, including a ledger, from a deceased estate, entered the Manuscripts Collection of the State Library of Victoria some years ago.7 How this document ended up in the State Library is not known. The cover title reads 'Paintings Received at the Melbourne Public Library, December 1864' while the inside heading states: 'The following numerated pictures received at the Melbourne Public Library for Exhibition December 1864 have been received from the Fine Arts Commission perfect and in good order and condition'. The first column consists, in most cases, of a list of artists' names with their addresses. The second column contains the date each work was received. The third column provides the titles of the works or a description. The last column shows the price nominated for each work. The paintings were also numbered (i.e. numerated), although someone lost count near the end. This was followed by another set of information: the signatures of the artists, or their agents, when they came to collect their paintings from 1 February 1865. The presence of Chevalier's painting, the dates and venue of the exhibition and the mention of Sir Redmond Barry's Fine Arts Commission demonstrate that we now have a complete list of the artists and paintings that were in this most important exhibition of colonial artists.

Some of the artists badly misjudged the expectations of the critics, the judges and indeed the general public. It is curious that a number of them painted scenes from Europe, biblical topics and even subjects from classical literature. It is impossible to believe that they were unaware of the towering figures of von Guerard and Chevalier and their influence on colonial taste. The Herald critic explained the difference between Chevalier and the other artists (note that von Guerard was not part of the exhibition):

It is, however, only bare justice to this industrious and versatile artist to place upon record his indefatigable exertions in supplying himself with the means of producing works of the class of which this is the very best of all the specimens that have in no inconsiderable numbers been continually sent forth into the world from his studio for the last nine or ten years. While some members of his profession content themselves with bewailing the limited encouragement given to art and artists in this colony, and in wrapping themselves up in the mantle of their own self-estimation, he has issued forth, palette in hand, and has wandered for weeks together in places previously almost undiscovered, but the exploration of which amply repaid him in the plenteous additions he was able to make to his stock of original sketches . . . he has so thoroughly familiarized himself with characteristic forms and local effects, that he has in a manner got off by heart the practical rules necessary to be known in giving the quality of true resemblance to his subjects.8

The colonial population did not want memories of 'home'. They desired images of their new land with its peculiarities, which new chum artists had to learn to portray. Some of the art critics for the newspapers seemed to realise this. Von Guerard and Chevalier were always points of reference and perceived as the artists whom the rest should emulate. Both were highly professional and both saw the new continent as something to be studied; both accompanied Georg von Neumayer on some of his scientific explorations of Victoria. The homely British artists and gentlemen amateurs could not compete. They had no ideology to rival the German romanticism of von Guerard or the work ethic of Chevalier.9

It seems that the most effective way to deal with the ledger and related material is to arrange it in the form of an exhibition catalogue. Thus the artists have been placed in an alphabetical sequence, with dates of birth and death (where known) followed by basic biographical references.

There are notes on some of the paintings, which require a description. Henry Burn's The Temple of Hymen is one of these. Fortunately one was given in the Argus, when the painting was exhibited at 'Mr. Hyam's establishment' in 1862. Some paintings also have notes to indicate the history of their display.

Bregazzi, Charles Lorenzo, b. 1824, Derby, England, d. 15 March, 1886, Cranbourne, Vic., aged 64.

Family website; Prov databases.

Address: Sydenham Hotel, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

View on the Loddon, £12 (oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected, 6 Feb. 1865.

Burn, Henry, b. c. 1807, Birmingham, d. 26 Oct. 1884, Melbourne, aged 77.

Kerr; DAAO; Graves; P. Reynolds, 'A note on Henry Burn', La Trobe Library Journal, no. 11, April, 1973.

Address: [8 Vere Street, East Collingwood].

Allegorical Picture: Temple of Hymen, 40 guineas [medium not recorded]

Sketch in Fitzroy Gardens, 12 guineas [medium not recorded]

South Entrance to Melbourne, a study, 5 guineas [medium not recorded]

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected, 4 Feb. 1865.

The Temple of Hymen, a watercolour, was first exhibited by Burn in 1856. It was displayed again by its new owner, L. L. Smith, at the Melbourne Public Library Loan Exhibition 1869. However, it is possible that the version for this exhibition was painted in oil, judging by the price. A painting of this title was also exhibited at 'Mr. Hyam's establishment' in 1862. The Argus gave a favourable and detailed description of it:

"The Temple of Hymen" is the subject of a painting, by Mr. Henry Burn (pupil of Stanfield), now on view at Mr. Hyam's establishment, 67 Collins-Street East, and intended for exhibition in London. The artist has sought to delineate, in allegorical fashion, the conflict of pleasure and pain incidental to an experience of "tender passion". On the right is a shelving bank, covered with handsome foliage, and bathed in sunlight. On the left are precipitous rocks and a cave disclosing a formidable-looking dragon, representing jealousy, all in deep shade. In front is a sheet of water, on which Venus appears in her car – drawn by black (!) swans and attended by graces and cupids; while an ascent, shrouded somewhat in the mist of early morning, leads to Hymen's Temple, on the steps of which are sundry votaries, awaiting the chanting of their epithalamium. The painting, both for poetic conception and artistic skill, is a credit to Mr. Burn.10

South Entrance to Melbourne, a study, was possibly the same work as Entrance to Melbourne, which Burn had exhibited in Charles Summers' studio earlier in 1864. The Age critic lambasted Temple of Hymen, which he mistakenly attributed to John Fallon.11

Calder, John, b. c. 1831, Scotland, d. 1899, New Zealand, aged 68.

Kerr; DAAO; U. Platts, Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists, Christchurch, NZ: Avon

Fine Prints, 1980; NZ Registrar of BDM.

Address: Bourke Street, Melbourne.

Gold at last, or our First Nugget £500 (oil)

Received: 13 Dec. 1864, collected, 4 Feb. 1865.

The Argus critic was quite positive about the work, but suggested that it was not finished. 'Great labour has evidently been bestowed on the picture, although not yet quite finished in details.'12 However, the Herald and the Age were both quite damning.13 The work was held up to ridicule with rather childish remarks.

Chevalier, Nicholas, b. 9 May 1828, St. Petersburg, d. 15 March 1902, London, aged 73.

Kerr; DAAO; AKL. See also their respective bibliographies.

Address: Spring Street, Melbourne.

Buffalo Ranges, Ovens District £250 (oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864. Later acquired by the Museum of Art.

Without doubt this was the favourite painting of the newspaper critics. The Argus stated 'Mr. Chevalier has not before painted a better or more characteristic picture . . .'14 The Herald wrote 'Our very old and well known friend, Mr. N. Chevalier, has nearly completed a magnificent picture of Victorian Scenery which we have no hesitation in saying transcends all his previous efforts'.15

Clark, Thomas, b. 3 December 1813, London, d. 21 April 1883, South Yarra Melbourne, aged 68.

Kerr; ADB; AKL. See their bibliographies; Graves; David Thomas, 'Thomas Clark', Bulletin of the Art Gallery of South Australia, vol. 35, pp. 4-9. Peter Dowling, 'Thomas Clark: Wannon Falls and beyond', Exhibition Catalogue, Hamilton Art Gallery (forthcoming, 2013).

Address: Southey Street, St. Kilda.

Ulysses & Diomedes, Capturing the Horses of Rhesus £200 (oil)

Portrait of Sir Henry Barkly (commissioned work: oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864 from Mr. Norton, collection not recorded.

The Age critic16 noted that 'Mr. Clark's "Ulysses and Diomedes Capturing the Horses of Rhesus" has been so often exhibited in Melbourne, and so often noticed, that it is unnecessary to do more than mention that it also forms part of the present exhibition'. Clark had also exhibited it in 1850 at the British Institution in London. It was also shown in Charles Summers' Studio in 1860. The painting is now in the Bendigo Art Gallery. Clark's Portrait of Sir Henry Barkly was in fact commissioned by the Victorian government when the Governor was to be posted to Mauritius. According to the Argus the painting was intended for the Houses of Parliament.17 However, the government later gave it to the Melbourne Public Library, no doubt because it was the only government institution that collected works of art. It is now on permanent display in the Red Rotunda Room off the Cowen Gallery in the State Library.

Earles, Chester, b. 18 Aug. 1821, London; d. 14 May 1905, Hawksburn, Melbourne, aged 83.

Kerr; DAAO; Graves; PROV databases

Address: Avoca Street, South Yarra.

At the Foot of the Cross £150 (oil)

Hagar £150 (oil)

The Mermaid (Vide Tennyson) £40 [medium not recorded]

The Harem £40 [medium not recorded]

Tea Time £30 [medium not recorded]

The Valentine £30 [medium not recorded]

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected: 4 Feb. 1865.

It is unlikely that all these works were painted for this exhibition. Earles had exhibited some of these subjects in Britain. At the Foot of the Cross had appeared at the British Institution in 1860. The catalogue gives an explanation from John xix, 27: Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your Mother." The biblical quotation was also used as the title. It was also on display at the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts in 1861 and the Royal Academy in 1855. It appeared yet again in the Intercolonial Exhibition in 1866 and later at the Melbourne Public Library Loan Exhibition, 1869. The subject of Hagar appeared at the Royal Academy in 1856 and at Suffolk Street in 1857. It later made an appearance at the Melbourne Public Library Loan Exhibition 1869. It is tempting to think that The Harem was the same picture as Pets of the Harem, which was also at the 1869 Exhibition. The critics were polite but lukewarm. The Argus said of At the Foot of the Cross that the work was 'full of artistic feeling but feebly rendered in some of the details'.18 Hagar was 'only a model but with a clever surrounding'.19 On the other hand, the Age gave some praise to both The Valentine and The Mermaid.20

Fallon, John, b. c. 1838, Dublin, d. 7 Oct. 1888, Melbourne, aged 51.

Kerr; PROV databases; Sands and McDougall Directories; Registrar of BDM.

Address: Peel Street, Collingwood.

Margaret £5.5.0 [medium not recorded]

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected, 2 Feb. 1865.

In the newspapers Fallon was cursorily noted with nothing said about his work.

Gritten, Henry, b. c. 1819/1820, London, d. 14 Jan. 1873, Fitzroy, Melbourne.

Kerr; AKL; DAAO; Obituary in Argus, 16 Jan. 1873, p. 5; Registrar of BDM;

PROV databases; T. Bonyhady, The Colonial Image: Australian painting 1800

1880, Sydney: Australian National Gallery and Ellsyd Press, 1987.

Address: [261 Victoria Parade, East Collingwood].

View in the Botanic [sic] Gardens £65 (oil)

View in Studley Park £20 (oil)

Merri Creek £20 (oil)

Interior of the Lady Chapel, St. Francis Church £5 (water colour)

View in the Fitzroy Gardens £5.5.0 (water colour)

Rouen Cathedral; sketching on the spot £3.3.0 (water colour)

Abbeville Cathedral £3.3.0 (water colour)

Church of St. Lawrence, Rotterdam. Sketched on the spot £3.3.0 (water colour)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864,′ collected, 1 Feb. 1865.

The Herald critic saw Gritten as an important addition to the colony:

Mr. H. Gritten, a gentleman who has only lately come to the colony, although he has been in the other colonies for the last twelve years, has painted several exceedingly pleasing pictures since his arrival here, is engaged upon a view of Melbourne from the Botanical Gardens . . . Gritten is a most welcome addition to the list of artists in Victoria.21

The first four paintings were particular favourites, and the painting of Merri Creek was reproduced in the Illustrated Melbourne Post. The original version is probably the oil painting now in the State Library of Victoria.

Hulme, Edward, b. 2 Feb. 1817, Fulham, London, d. 7 Sept. 1904, Bobinawarrah, Vic., aged 87.

Kerr; G. Pirstitz & D. Royal, Edward Hulme 1818-1904, Albury, NSW: Albury City Art Gallery, 1979; PROV databases.

Address: Stanley, near Beechworth [Victoria].

Flora Australis Vulgaris £100 (oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864 from Mr. Norton, Collins Street, collected, 7 Feb. 1865, by B. Saunders.

Comparatively little was said about this painting in the papers. The Herald had the most to say: 'Mr. E. Hulme, an amateur, we understand, has a rather prettily painted family group, described as Flora Australis Vulgaria. It is far from being devoid of merit, but the background is a little flat and uncertain'.22 Note that in the ledger the title is incorrectly given as Flora Australia Vulgaria.

Marshall, James, b. c.1800, Aberdeen, d. 17 Aug. 1870, Melbourne, aged 70.

Kerr; DAAO; PROV databases; Sands and McDougall Directories; Registrar of BDM.

Address: Dryburgh Street, Hotham [North Melbourne].

Rise of Flagstaff Hill & Fall of Batman's Hill £7.7. (oil)

Dandenong Creek £7.7. (oil)

Received: 20 Dec. 1864, collected, 2 March 1865, by Mr. Anderson (agent).

Despite his previous exhibiting, none of the critics bothered to mention the above works. A number of his paintings in other exhibitions were Tasmanian subjects. He seems to have favoured landscapes and cityscapes, e.g., Edinburgh from Memory.

Paulson, Mrs. Anne, b. 1808 Papplewick; d. 17 Sept. 1866, Castlemaine, Vic., aged 57.

Kerr; DAAO; A.W. Mallatratt, Mansfield's Victorian Lady Artist, Mansfield, Vic.: Mansfield

District Council, 1996; PROV databases; Registrar of BDM.

Address: Castlemaine [Victoria].

Fruit and Flowers £30 (oil)

Preparing for the Banquet £10 (oil)

Flowers £7 (oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected, ? Feb. 1865 by Mr. Waterman (agent).

The second painting was described by the Argus critic as Aborigines preparing a feast.23 The Age critic objected to her fruit: 'Very little exception can be taken to the drawing, colour and composition; but the texture is not that of fruit. It looks like fruit which has been covered with a coat of fruit. You do not feel that if you were to touch one of the grapes, you would destroy its beautiful bloom, or that the contact of your finger with a peach would leave a dimple on its pulpy face. The pictures resemble copies from a picture, rather than transcripts from natural objects'.24

Saunders, Benjamin, b. c. 1821, d. 20 Sept. 1891, South Melbourne, aged 70.

Kerr; DAAO; PROV databases; Registrar of BDM.

Address: Clarendon Place, Emerald Hill [South Melbourne]

Noon Day Walk in the 17^th Century £30 [medium not recorded]

Received: 19 Dec. 1864, collected, 2 Feb. 1865.

Unfortunately Saunders was not discussed by the newspaper critics. It should be noted that he sent four copies of old masters to the NSW Agricultural Society Exhibition in 1873. Exhibiting copies was not unusual; even Chevalier exhibited a watercolour copy of a self-portrait by Raphael in the Exhibition of the Victorian Society of Fine Arts 1857.

Short, Henry, b. c. 1807, London, d. 16 July 1865, Carlton, Melbourne, aged 58.25

Kerr; C. Downer, 'The Language of Flowers: Henry Short's Our Adopted Country', La Trobe Journal, no. 62, Spring, 1998.

Address: Carlton Street, Carlton Gardens.

Fruit and Flowers £50 (oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected, 4 Feb. 1865.

The Argus critic was very positive: 'Mr. Short, however, has a capital fruit-piece, painted specially for this exhibition. If he has made the most of the luxuriance of the climate, he has painted with truth the delicacy of nature'26. However, the Herald critic27 was rather cold: 'The two fruit and flower subjects by Mr. Short are tolerably familiar to the public'. Short seems to have given up landscape painting after the 1861 exhibition in Charles Summers' studio, when a critic called his landscapes 'detestable' in comparison to his still-life paintings.

Short, William Howes Wackenbarth, b. 1833, Surrey; d. 20 June 1917, Burwood, Melbourne, aged 84.

Kerr; DAAO; PROV databases.

Address: 41 Collins Street Melbourne.

Yarra Bend from Studley Park £25 [medium not recorded]

Received: 21 Dec. 1864, collected, 9 Feb. 1865.

Short used the Yarra and its adjacent parks as subjects for his paintings. Other subjects were also from the inner suburbs: e.g. View of Flemington from Royal Park with Cattle grazing; Sunset View from Studley Park; Studley Punt on the Yarra; Dight's Mill. However, he soon widened his repertoire, e.g. The Barrabool Hills, Geelong; Picnic Point, looking towards Brighton Beach. Short seems to have exhibited Yarra Bend from Studley Park before in Charles Summers' Studio in 1861. On that occasion, the Age critic described it as 'a capital painting'. This time, however, there were no comments.

J. Johnson, Works Exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists 1824-1893, Woodbridge, Suffolk, Antique Collectors' Club, 1975. NB: The Mrs H Taylor here may be referring to a different artist altogether.

Address: South Yarra.

Now or Never £5 (water colour)

Received: 14 Dec. 1864, collected, 1 Feb. 1865.

The critics had little to say. The Argus merely explained the subject: 'a crayon sketch of a pastime in which lovers are said to indulge'.28 However, the Herald: explained it better 'a young man attempting to snatch a kiss'.29 The Age30 critic was quite cutting: 'Of Mrs Taylor's grotesque sketch Now or Never, we can only say "Never.'"

Terry, Frederic Casemero, b. 1825, Great Marlow, Bucks., d. 10 Aug. 1869, Sydney.

Kerr; DAAO; ADB.

Address: [Alma Street, Darlington, Sydney].

Bush Track £30 (water colour)

Received: 10 Dec. 1864, collected: 8 Feb. 1865, by Mr Joseph Hirst (agent).

The newspaper critics immediately recognised Terry's superior work. In the Argus,31 we read :

Only one [sic] water-colour drawing figures in the exhibition. It represents a "Bush Track," and is by Mr. P[sic] C. Terry, of Sydney. We hope it will find a purchaser and be retained in Melbourne. Mr. Terry's style is broad and effective, without

sacrificing distinctness of form to freedom of touch. The scale of colour is nicely graduated; his distances are soft, and he works up a few simple elements into a really clever picture.

The Age critic wrote32: "A very clever and elaborate piece of watercolour, by Terry, of Sydney'.

Thomas, Margaret S. C., b. c.1843, Croyden, Surrey; d. 24 Dec. 1929, Norton, Herts., aged 86. Kerr; DAAO; ADB; Smith; Wood

Address: 156 Victoria Street, Richmond.

A Study £10.10 (oil)

Gulnare £10.10 (oil)

Viola £7.7 (oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected, 9 Feb. 1865, by Mr. Kingsbury (agent).

Thomas was well respected as a student of Charles Summers. Two of her paintings were literary: Viola probably from Twelfth Night and Gulnare from Byron's The Corsair. The Argus described her as the 'industrious Miss Thomas'.33 The Herald had the following: 'Miss Thomas, a young lady who is favourably known as a pupil of Mr. Summers and who has on former occasions exhibited several highly creditable studies in plaster, has a not unpleasing sketch in oil entitled "Viola" which is not wanting in considerable delicacy of expression and vigour of treatment'.34 Although she was usually thought of as a sculptress, once she left Victoria, most of her works were paintings, mainly portraits. Her large portrait of Summers at the State Library of Victoria is a good example.

Walker, George, b. c. 1809, d. 14 June 1878, Hotham, Melbourne, aged 69.

Kerr; DAAO; PROV databases.

Address: 115 Queensbury Street, Hotham [North Melbourne].

View on the Goulburn, Victoria £25 [medium not recorded]

Received: 17 Dec. 1864, collected, 4 Feb. 1865.

The newspaper critics ignored this painting. They may well have seen the painting in 1854. It seems to have been his major work, as it was exhibited later by a J. Hingston at the Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition 1866. It has been suggested in Kerr that he was probably a photographic colourist.

Webb, Alexander James, b. 8 Oct. 1813, Scotland, d. Belmont, Geelong, aged 79.

Kerr; DAAO; Alexander Webb 1813-1892, Geelong: Geelong Art Gallery, 1989

Address: Geelong.

Australia Exultant (£35) [medium not recorded]

Received: 16 Dec. 1864, collected, 4 Feb. 1865, by Mr. Morrison (agent).

Unfortunately, Webb was overlooked by the newspaper critics. Presumably it was a landscape not unlike the works in the exhibition held at the Geelong Art Gallery in 1989/90. The colours seem to be slightly garish and bright, which makes the picture unrealistic.

PROV databases

Address: Richmond.

Bush Scene £10 [medium not recorded]

Received: 19 Dec. 1864, collected, 1 Feb. 1865.

Wheeler was ignored by the newspaper critics, but at least he was not humiliated. He does not seem to have exhibited elsewhere.

Williams, John Robert, b. c. 1823; d. 29 July 1910, Hawthorn, Melbourne, aged 86.

Kerr; DAAO; PROV databases; Registrar BDM.

Address: [Little Park Park, South Yarra]

Water Gate, Botanical Gardens £15 (oil)

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected, 1 Feb. 1865.

His painting was listed by the critic for the Argus.35 The Age critic used it, along with other works, as being examples of daubs.36 However, in 1862 when he exhibited two paintings in The Annual Exhibition of Fine Arts, the Herald critic gave a positive critique:

Mr. J.R. Williams, an amateur, has two pleasing little pictures which do him infinite credit. One of them is "A Bend" on the Yarra, and the other is a view of Melbourne from the Botanical Gardens. In the latter picture there is much felicitousness of arrangement. There is an admirable balance of effect, and the distribution of the masses of shadow are very happily considered. Mr. Williams will, no doubt, be a regular contributor to future exhibitions.37

Woodhouse, Frederick William, b. 26 Dec. 1820 London; d. 29 Dec. 1909, Elsternwick, Melbourne, aged 89.

Kerr; DAAO; C. Laverty, Australian Colonial Sporting Painters: Frederick Woodhouse and Sons, Sydney: David Ells Press 1980, PROV databases.

Address: Henry Street East, Collingwood.

View of Sandridge Butts from Emerald Hill £30 (oil)

English Landscape: Homestead £15 [medium not recorded]

English Landscape: Returning from Plough £20 [medium not recorded]

Landscape and Cattle £15 [medium not recorded]

Gypsy Tent £20 [medium not recorded]

Wild Flowers £5 [medium not recorded]

Received: 15 Dec. 1864, collected: 6 Feb. 1865.

Despite the success of his sporting paintings, the above works were not taken seriously. The Herald critic noted his reputation as a painter of horses: 'Mr. Woodhouse, who is known as a not altogether unsuccessful painter of horses, has several pictures, but they are all more or less distinguished by a certain rawness of tone and glare of colouring'.38 The Age critic was quite devastating and claimed that 'we have seen far better pictures on a Birmingham tea-board than Mr. Woodhouse's Landscape and Cattle'39

Address: 17 Temple Court, Collins Street West, Melbourne.

Joseph Grundy was an accountant who worked at Temple Court. His home address was Northcote Villa, Northcote. He owned a painting, 'Portrait of a Lady' which was thought to have been painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Grundy no doubt lent his painting to the Fine Arts Commission to improve the tenor of the exhibition.

Kerr. Dictionary of Australian Artists, South Melbourne, Vic.: OUP, 1992.

McCulloch. The New McCulloch, Carlton North, Vic.: Miegunyuh, 2006.

DAAO. Dictionary of Australian Artists Online.

AKL. Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, Leipzig: Saur, 1983-.

ADB. Australian Dictionary of Biography, Melbourne: MUP, 1966-. Also available on-line at: http://adb.anu.edu.au/.

Smith. Concise Dictionary of Australian Artists, Carlton North, Vic : MUP, 1993.

Wood. Victorian Painters, 3^rd ed. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 1995. Graves. The Royal Academy of Arts: a complete dictionary of contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904, London: Bell, 1905-06.

Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) databases for shipping and probate records.

Registrar of BDM (Births, Deaths and Marriages).