Significance Assessment.
Historical Significance.
‘Under the Jacaranda’ (painted in 1903) has great historically significance and is considered by many to be a quintessential representation of Brisbane in its Federation years. The artist, Richard (Godfrey) Rivers, often referred to as the ‘father of art in Queensland’, was a central figure in the development of the arts in Brisbane.
Rivers was born in England in 1858 and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, from 1877 to 1883, under Professor Alphonse Legros. He won a prize for landscape painting in 1883 and included a work in the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1884. He immigrated to Sydney in 1886, where he worked as the art master at the Katoomba College and exhibited in international exhibitions during this time.. His ‘Street, Old Sydney’ was purchased by the National Gallery of New South Wales in 1889.
Rivers moved to Brisbane in 1890. He was appointed as the art master at the Brisbane Technical College, and at exclusive schools, the Brisbane Girl's Grammar School, All Hallow's and the Brisbane High School for Girls (later known as Somerville House). He was very successful in these roles and a number of his students had their own success, including Harold Parker, Bessie Gibson, Anne Alison Greene, Vida Lahey, L.J. Harvey, Frank Pickford Marriott, William Leslie Bowles, F.J. Martyn Roberts, William G. Grant, Gwendolyn (Stanley) Grant, Daphne Mayo, Lloyd Rees and the cartoonist A.J. Hingston, all of which have work in the Queensland Art Gallery collection also.
Rivers’ had many significant social connections and was a frequent guest to Government House. His wife, Selina Jane Bell, was the daughter of Brisbane surgeon, Hugh Bell.
Rivers’ had many significant social connections and was a frequent guest to Government House. His wife, Selina Jane Bell, was the daughter of Brisbane surgeon, Hugh Bell.
Commissions of note included portraits for the Supreme Court and Brisbane City Council of notable judges, premiers and town clerks; for the Anglican Church he undertook works for St John’s Cathedral, St Mary’s Church at Kangaroo Point and Christ’s Church, Milton; and for the royal visit in 1901 he collaborated in the design of a Royal Arch.
Rivers was associated with a number of Brisbane clubs, most notably the prestigious Queensland Club (of which he was the first artist member) and he was also president of the Queensland Art Society for some time, where he attracted government grants that enabled reviews, prizes and interstate exhibitions, including work by important southern artists, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Sydney Long.
Rivers successfully lobbied for the establishment of a public gallery, the Queensland National Art Gallery, urging the premier to follow Sydney’s example in doing so. A temporary space in Parliament House was agreed to, but within months it was moved to a larger space in the (former) Town Hall, then in 1905, it was moved to a permanent home in the specially designed Executive Building, from which time Rivers as honorary curator, began to build the collection, mostly of English works, the first of which was the iconic 'Evicted' by Blandford Fletcher. He arranged major tours of important British work to Brisbane, which drew impressive, even record, crowds and he instigated a fund allowing for the erection of a memorial to Queen Victoria after her death in 1901.
A Godfrey Rivers medal at the Brisbane Central Technical College and bequest to the Queensland National Art Gallery for a Godfrey Rivers Trust, to assist with the purchase of contemporary Australian and British art, were established after his death from typhoid in 1925.
Also of interest historically, is the fact that the jacaranda in the image is believed to be the first planted in Brisbane in 1864. It was eventually blown over in a cyclone in 1979, but many of the jacarandas growing in and around Brisbane were grown from seeds or cuttings from this tree, including saplings that were given to new mothers when they left hospital.
Social/spiritual Significance.
The image has social value for many in the Brisbane arts community and presumably for gallery staff aware of Rivers’ role in the founding of the gallery and promotion of the arts in Brisbane. It is alleged that gallery visitors sometimes drop jacaranda blooms at the base of the image, presumably as a kind of metaphoric offering of endearment.
The image represents Rivers and his wife taking tea, at the Botanical Gardens, adjacent to the Technical College where he worked. The tea ritual, popular in Europe, denotes the respectability and finesse of the elite, which Brisbane society aspired to.
The jacaranda has social significance in Brisbane, in that it blooms each spring around exam time at university and according to one version of an associated urban myth, if you haven't started studying by that time, you are unlikely to do well in your exams.
‘Under the Jacaranda’ is well loved by the Brisbane art community and it has been said that if it isn’t on display there is a public outcry.
The image represents Rivers and his wife taking tea, at the Botanical Gardens, adjacent to the Technical College where he worked. The tea ritual, popular in Europe, denotes the respectability and finesse of the elite, which Brisbane society aspired to.
The jacaranda has social significance in Brisbane, in that it blooms each spring around exam time at university and according to one version of an associated urban myth, if you haven't started studying by that time, you are unlikely to do well in your exams.
‘Under the Jacaranda’ is well loved by the Brisbane art community and it has been said that if it isn’t on display there is a public outcry.
Aesthetic/Artistic Significance.
'Under the Jacaranda' has aesthetic significance for its beauty, use of color and Impressionist style. Of all of Rivers’ works in the collection, it is, perhaps, the most striking. The image is representative of the Federation era,with a distinctive, national focusing on observations of the Australian landscape and lifestyle. It is an example of the use of a colour palette, adjusted for the distinctive quality of Australian light. This image is one of his most vivid and iconic, with a more unique use of colour in the striking lilac hue of the blooms.
Scientific significance.
N/A
Provenance.
There is direct provenance to the artist, with the gallery purchasing the painting in the year it was created.
Rarity/Representativeness.
This is not a rare example of Impressionism within the collection, but it is a fine example. It also represents a rare glimpse of a popular past-time at the time.
Condition/Completeness.
Given that the painting has spent all of its life in a gallery environment, it has been cared for and preserved continuously. It is in excellent condition.
Interpretive Capacity.
It is plain to see that Rivers left an extraordinary legacy to Brisbane and the Queensland Art Gallery. ‘Under the Jacaranda’ is one of the most cherished works in the Queensland Art Gallery collection and it continues to fit with one of the missions of the gallery to collect works of historical importance. It has the ability to attract admirers and helps to generate income when printed on gallery merchandise. It is also used in the gallery’s education program.
Statement of Significance.
‘Under the Jacaranda’ is significant across three of the four primary criteria. It is of great historic significance, with the artist linked to local, national and international art scenes. It conveys an elite lifestyle in Brisbane’s early years, with the subject matter including Rivers, who was a significant figure in the building of the Brisbane art community and state gallery during Australia’s Federation era. It also depicts what is believed to be the first jacaranda in Brisbane. This painting also has aesthetic significance with its distinctive beauty, Impressionist style and a striking colour palette, adapted for Australian sunlight. It is a good example of a Federation era painting, with a typical focus on the Australian landscape and lifestyle. It is significant socially, with its sentimental link to the establishment of our city and its state gallery, and the establishment of a favourite tree in our local landscape,, with connotations for springtime and exam time. There is direct provenance to the artist, being purchased by the Queensland Art Gallery in the year it was painted. Given the lifetime of gallery preservation care, it is in excellent condition. It fits with the gallery’s missions of collecting historical works, educating and engaging the public and generating income through printing the popular image on gallery merchandise.
References
Brown, P. (2015) Canvas: Queensland Art Gallery painting that prompts strange reaction from visitors | The Courier-Mail. Available at: http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/canvas-queensland-art-gallery-painting-that-prompts-strange-reaction-from-visitors/news-story/68918b9e03c98b693118d500aac44388
CAPITAL & COUNTRY: The Federation years 1900 - 1914 - | R. Godfrey RIVERS | Wisteria, Coochin Coochin. Available at: http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/CAPITAL/Default.cfm?IRN=180376&BioArtistIRN=33020&mystartrow=13&realstartrow=13&MnuID=SRCH&ViewID=2
Cornwall, A. (2013). R. Godfrey Rivers Conceives 'Under the Jacaranda' 1903. [Blog] The Drabble Writer's Table, Available at: http://squeaky thongs.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/r-godfrey-rivers-conceives-under-the-jacaranda-1903
Gillett, K. (2016). Highlight: Under the Jacaranda. [Blog] QAGOMA Blog. Available at: http://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au/under-the-jacaranda
McKay, J. (2014). Rediscovering the Artist Godfrey Rivers and his Legacy to Queensland. Queensland History Journal, [online] 22(4), pp.287-301. Available at: http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=844132052459449;res=IELAPA>ISSN:1836-5477
Queensland Heritage. (2017). [Blog] QAGOMA Australian Art. Available at: http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/learn/collection/australian
R.Godfrey Rivers 'Under the Jacaranda' 1903. (2017). [Blog] QAGOMA Learning. Available at: http://www.learning.qagoma.qld.gov.au/?p=1756
Watson, B. (2010). Public Works: Under the Jacaranda. The Australian. [online] Available at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/public-works-under-the-jacaranda/news-story/0677230865b6a3fba9f2837a0a02f212
