B. 1854 – 1914

An artist and teacher, Walter Withers was a key figure in Australian impressionism. He studied at both the Royal Academy of the Arts and the National Gallery School, where he met and befriended Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts and Louis Abrahams. In 1887 he returned to Europe, studying in Paris at the Julian Academy alongside E. Phillips Fox and John Londstaff. 

When he returned to Australia, Withers shared a home with Roberts and Streeton – earning the nickname ‘Colonel’ for his attempts to organise his fellow artists. Indeed, Withers was an active figure in Australia’s art scene – he taught at three art schools, was a member of the Victorian Artists Society and helped found the Australian Art Association. 

Withers’s work represented a challenge to the prevailing late 19th century art establishment. He painted from life, valuing the brushstrokes of French impressionists like Claude Monet and focusing on the poetry of nature, how it shifts in appearance under dawn, midday and dusk. Represented across national collections, he was honoured with a major retrospective at the Geelong Art Gallery in 1975. 

 
To read a more in-depth biography of the artist, click here.