James Peter Quinn
Encyclopedia
James Peter Quinn was an Australia
n portrait painter born in Melbourne
He studied part-time under Frederick McCubbin
1887–1999 then at the Melbourne National Gallery School under George Folingsby and Bernard Hall 1889–1893, then in Paris
at the Académie Julian
and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
from 1893–1–901 under Jean Paul Laurens aided by a National Gallery of Victoria travelling scholarship.
By 1904 he was a highly successful portrait painter and exhibited with the Royal Academy of Arts. His Mère et Fils (of his wife and son), was awarded an honourable mention at the Old Salon, Paris, in 1912. He was commissioned to paint Joseph Chamberlain
, the Duchess of York
and the Duke of Windsor
.
He was accredited official war artist for the First AIF during World War I
, painting prominent officers in France (causing considerable friction with authorities and fellow artists), then from 1919 with Canadian War Records, only returning to Australia in December 1935 after the death of son René. He rejoined the highly conservative Victorian Artists Society
, and was even president for a year, but his openness to modern art
made him no friends, and was the basis of a public confrontation with Prime Minister Robert Menzies
.
In 1937, Quinn was elected president of the Victorian Art School, a position he held until his death in 1951, and taught at the National Gallery of Victoria
Art School. A commemorative exhibition at the Victorian Centre of the Arts in 1980 enhanced his posthumous reputation.
hangs in the National Library of Australia
.
The collection of the Australian War Memorial
, Canberra
includes a number of his war portraits, e.g.,
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n portrait painter born in Melbourne
He studied part-time under 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....
1887–1999 then at the Melbourne National Gallery School under George Folingsby and Bernard Hall 1889–1893, then in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
from 1893–1–901 under Jean Paul Laurens aided by a National Gallery of Victoria travelling scholarship.
By 1904 he was a highly successful portrait painter and exhibited with the Royal Academy of Arts. His Mère et Fils (of his wife and son), was awarded an honourable mention at the Old Salon, Paris, in 1912. He was commissioned to paint Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
, the Duchess of York
Duchess of York
Duchess of York is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of York. The title is gained with marriage alone and is forfeited upon divorce. Four of the twelve Dukes of York did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, therefore there have only ever been eleven...
and the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
.
He was accredited official war artist for the First AIF during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, painting prominent officers in France (causing considerable friction with authorities and fellow artists), then from 1919 with Canadian War Records, only returning to Australia in December 1935 after the death of son René. He rejoined the highly conservative Victorian Artists Society
Victorian 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...
, and was even president for a year, but his openness to modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
made him no friends, and was the basis of a public confrontation with Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
.
In 1937, Quinn was elected president of the Victorian Art School, a position he held until his death in 1951, and taught at the National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
Art School. A commemorative exhibition at the Victorian Centre of the Arts in 1980 enhanced his posthumous reputation.
Selected works
A portrait of sculptor Harold ParkerHarold Parker
Harold Parker was a British-born sculptor, raised in Australia and subsequently working in the UK.His family moved to Brisbane, Australia in 1876 He studied at the Brisbane Technical College under John A Clarke and Godfrey Rivers, then in 1896 left for London where he studied under William Silver...
hangs in the National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
.
The collection of the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
includes a number of his war portraits, e.g.,
- Sir Henry George "Harry" Chauvel, 1919
- Lieutenant-General Sir John MonashJohn MonashGeneral Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
GCMGOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
KCBOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, 1918 - William Riddell Birdwood (Baron Birdwood)William Birdwood, 1st Baron BirdwoodField Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, CIE, DSO was a First World War British general who is best known as the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.- Youth and early career :Birdwood was born...
- Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother)Elizabeth Bowes-LyonElizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, 1936
Sources
- McCullough, Alan Encyclopedia of Australian Art Hutchinson of London 1968 ISBN 09 081420 7