(1867-1943)

A celebrated member of Australia’s beloved Heidelberg school of Australian impressionism, Arthur Streeton is one of the country’s most renowned landscape painters. Knighted in 1937, and selected as an official war painter in the First World War, Streeton’s paintings are often seen as a nostalgic reflection of his homeland - an ode to the Australian terrain. 

Formally trained at National Gallery of Victoria night classes between 1882 and 1887, Streeton’s painted landscapes truly blossomed through his friendships with fellow artists Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, and Charles Conder. At Roberts’ camps in the now-urbanised suburbs of Box Hill and Heidelberg, they would sketch plein-air - rendering in yellow and green tones the cool light, heat and open space of the quintessential Victorian landscape.

A significant figure in the Australian impressionist landscape, Streeton exhibited in the infamous 9 by 5 impression exhibition, held in Melbourne in 1889. With his fellow artists, he created a series of cigar-box paintings depicting bush and city life, a distinctly experimental approach to art that was remarkably unpopular amongst conservative critics, but introduced an emerging modernism in Australian art. 

Streeton’s paintings are now held in both private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. The artist was awarded the Wynne Prize in 1928 for his depiction of afternoon light in the Goulburn Valley. Since his death in 1943, Streeton’s legacy as a significant Australian artist has continued to be recognised, and his works have been celebrated nation-wide.

For a more in-depth biography of this artist, click here.