Charles Douglas Richardson
Encyclopedia
Charles Douglas Richardson (7 July 1853 – 15 October 1932) was one of the most gifted sculptors working in Australia at c. 1900. His contemporary Bertram Mackennal was a highly enterprising sculptor, who had a more business-like approach to promoting his work. Richardson's career was based in Australia from 1889 onwards, whereas Mackennal spent most of his working life outside of Australia.
, Melbourne and later the National Gallery School, Melbourne and the London Royal Academy Schools, Richardson worked in various media and also exhibited many oils and watercolours. When in London he shared studios for a time with fellow students from Melbourne, Tom Roberts
and Bertram Mackennal. Richardson was regarded as one of the most important artists of his generation in Melbourne during the late 1880s and the 1890s. He was discussed by critics as the equal of such artists as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton
and Frederick McCubbin
. Richardson's works were read as synonymous with the new nationalist school of plein air painters. At c. 1890, Richardson was a close associate of these artists, both personally and professionally. He showed both sculpted and painted "impressions" at the famed 9x5 Impressionist Exhibition, Melbourne August 1889, regarded as one of Australia's first modernist group shows with a manifesto. In c. 1880 he was a ringleader alongside Tom Roberts of student protests at the National Gallery school.
following dissatisfaction with Max Meldrum
and his very vocal core of supporters. Although he was one of the longest serving presidents, Richardson is little remembered by that group.
Richardson's reputation has diminished amongst subsequent curators, critics and historians, partly because relatively few of the significant and highly regarded works that he was known to have produced came on the market, partly because his interest in symbolism and the British New Sculpture
movement did not speak to the social realist values that were read into the plein air group by many later commentators. He is now read as a curious adjunct to the plein air school of painters known as the Heidelberg School
rather than as the core figure that he once was.
. Baskerville received many commissions but her work lacked the lyrical and poetic qualities of the best of Richardson's works
A recent bronze casting of his female figure The Cloud was set into a formal water garden beside the former Brighton Town Hall
(Victoria, Australia) in the 1980s.
Training
Trained at the Artisans School of Design, Trades HallTrades Hall
A Trades Hall is an English term for a building where trade unions meet together, or work from cooperatively, as a local representative organisation, known as a Labor Council or Trades Hall Council...
, Melbourne and later the National Gallery School, Melbourne and the London Royal Academy Schools, Richardson worked in various media and also exhibited many oils and watercolours. When in London he shared studios for a time with fellow students from Melbourne, Tom Roberts
Tom Roberts
Thomas William Roberts , usually known simply as Tom, was a prominent Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School.-Life:...
and Bertram Mackennal. Richardson was regarded as one of the most important artists of his generation in Melbourne during the late 1880s and the 1890s. He was discussed by critics as the equal of such artists as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton
Arthur Streeton
Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter.-Early life:Streeton was born in Mount Duneed, near Geelong, and his family moved to Richmond in 1874. In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the National Gallery School.Streeton was influenced by French...
and Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin was an Australian painter who was prominent in the Heidelberg School, one of the more important periods in Australia's visual arts history....
. Richardson's works were read as synonymous with the new nationalist school of plein air painters. At c. 1890, Richardson was a close associate of these artists, both personally and professionally. He showed both sculpted and painted "impressions" at the famed 9x5 Impressionist Exhibition, Melbourne August 1889, regarded as one of Australia's first modernist group shows with a manifesto. In c. 1880 he was a ringleader alongside Tom Roberts of student protests at the National Gallery school.
Presidency of Victorian Artists' Society
During the first world war he was elected as president of the Victorian Artists SocietyVictorian Artists Society
Victorian Artists Society established in 1856 in Melbourne, Australia promotes artistic education and exhibition in Australia. Fore-runner of the Victorian Academy of Arts, founded in 1870. In 1888 the Australian Artist's Association amalgamated with the Victorian Academy of Arts to form the...
following dissatisfaction with Max Meldrum
Max Meldrum
Duncan Max Meldrum was a Scottish born Australian painter. He is known as the founder of Australian Tonalism, a representational style of painting, as well as his portrait work, for which he won the Archibald Prize in 1939 and 1940.-Early Life and Training:Meldrum was born in Edinburgh, Scotland,...
and his very vocal core of supporters. Although he was one of the longest serving presidents, Richardson is little remembered by that group.
Richardson's reputation has diminished amongst subsequent curators, critics and historians, partly because relatively few of the significant and highly regarded works that he was known to have produced came on the market, partly because his interest in symbolism and the British New Sculpture
New Sculpture
The New Sculpture refers to a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture.The term "New Sculpture" was coined by the first historian of the movement, the critic Edmund Gosse, who wrote a four-part series for the Art Journal in 1894...
movement did not speak to the social realist values that were read into the plein air group by many later commentators. He is now read as a curious adjunct to the plein air school of painters known as the Heidelberg School
Heidelberg School
The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. The movement has latterly been described as Australian Impressionism....
rather than as the core figure that he once was.
Marriage
Relatively late in life in 1914 he married the sculptor Margaret Baskerville, who was one of the most high-profiled and proactively professional Australian women artists prior to Margaret PrestonMargaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
. Baskerville received many commissions but her work lacked the lyrical and poetic qualities of the best of Richardson's works
A recent bronze casting of his female figure The Cloud was set into a formal water garden beside the former Brighton Town Hall
Brighton Town Hall
Brighton Town Hall is a historic town hall located at Brighton, Franklin County, New York. It was built in 1914 and is a modest, one story American Craftsman style building measuring 35 feet wide and 58 feet deep. It rests on a fieldstone foundation with exposed cobblestone piers at the front. ...
(Victoria, Australia) in the 1980s.