Avant-Garde Painting in New Zealand and Australia 1884-1904: a Comparison

Abstract

This thesis is a study of the first avant-garde movement in art in Australia and New Zealand. In both countries the movement fundamentally challenged the nature of painting to an extent unmatched until the advent of Modernism in the 1920s. The nineteenth century avant-garde artists were influenced by a variety of movements and styles including plein-air naturalism, aestheticism and impressionism. They drew on a number of non- traditional sources including photography and popular imagery. This study concludes that impressionism, as distinguished from French Impressionism, was the most significant style to emerge from the period in Australasia. The thesis identifies the different characteristics which evolved in the painting in each country, but concludes that the two movements were similar, which is not surprising given their shared internationalism. A significant difference is that Australian avant-garde artists were inspired by nationalist sentiment, while in New Zealand artists were philosophically opposed to advancing popular imagery. The major painters discussed are Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin in Australia, and James Nairn and Girolamo Nerli in New Zealand. However, the contribution of many others including Charles Conder, Jane Sutherland, Mabel Hill and William Menzies Gibb is discussed along with the social milieu in which they operated. In placing the nineteenth century avant-garde in a wider context in New Zealand than has been previously done, this study offer a fresh perspective on the period. It challenges the view that the main influence of James Nairn and Girolamo Nerli was to promote professionalism and expatriatism among local artists and suggests instead that their main role was to instil impressionist painting in New Zealand.