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Abbey Altson

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Abbey Abraham Altson
Born21 August 1866
Middlesbrough, England
Died7 November 1948 (1948-11-08) (aged 82)
New York, USA
NationalityBritish
EducationNational Gallery of Victoria Art School 1886-1890,
Known forRomanticism female portraits, Genre paintings
Notable workFlood Sufferings, Meditation, The Golden Age, Inspiration, Idyll of the Sea, Portrait of Frederika Meyer (all held in National Gallery of Victoria)
AwardsWinner of 1890 National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship

Abbey Altson (1866–1948), also Abby, Aby or Abe Altson, who may have been born Abraham Altson,[1] was a British artist known for his Romanticism female portraits & Genre paintings.

Biography

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Altson was born in England, the only child of Ethel (née Hatrick) and David Alston[2] and travelled to Australia in the early 1880s. He joined the bohemian Buonarotti Club (1883–87) as one of its youngest members and received encouragement from senior artists.[3] He studied at the National Gallery School 1885-90 and in 1890 he was awarded its Travelling Scholarship.[4] Altson's winning painting was named Flood Sufferings and gained attention through its connection to the recent flood disaster of Bourke and other towns on the Darling River.[5] He went to Paris the following year and spent the rest of his life overseas,[6] often traveling between England and India, and migrating to the US in 1939.[4]

Altson along with Rupert Bunny & Max Meldrum studied at the Académie Julian, Paris under Jean Paul Laurens who was highly respected teacher. He also exhibited at the Allied Artists Association in London in 1908. Australian exhibitors in 1908 exhibition included Altson, George Bell, Rupert Bunny & Thea Proctor.[5]

Career

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Altson was a successful painter who after winning the 1890 National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship, moved to London. The winners of the scholarship were required to paint 2 copies of old masters and one original. Altson chose to copy 2 portraits, Van Dyck's Portrait of a Lady of Rank with her daughter from the Louvre,[7][8] followed by Rembrandt's An Old Man from London's National Gallery. Altson exhibited in Société des Artistes Français in 1892, 1893 & 1896.[9]

Legacy

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Alston's work featured in the National Gallery of Victoria traveling exhibition Golden Summers, 30 October 1985 – 27 January 1986.[10]

Works

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  • Flood Sufferings (1890)[11]
  • Meditation (1896)[12]
  • The Golden Age (1893)[13]
  • Inspiration (1899)[14]
  • Idyll of the Sea (1896 )[15]
  • Songs of the Forest [16]

References

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  1. ^ Alan McCulloch (1984). Encyclopedia of Australian Art. Hutchinson. ISBN 009148300X.
  2. ^ New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Death Certificates
  3. ^ Mead, Stephen F. (December 2011). "The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887". The Latrobe Journal. 88.
  4. ^ a b McCulloch, Alan; McCulloch, Susan; McCulloch Childs, Emily (2006). The new McCulloch's encyclopedia of Australian art (4th ed.). Fitzroy: AUS Art Editions; The Miegunyah Press. p. 208. ISBN 0-522-85317-X. OCLC 80568976.
  5. ^ a b Robertson, Kate (2020). Identity, community and Australian artists, 1890-1914 : Paris, London and further afield. New York, NY, USA. ISBN 978-1-5013-3284-5. OCLC 1086343250.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "Abbey Altson :: biography at :: at Design and Art Australia Online". www.daao.org.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Works | NGV | View Work". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Portrait d'une dame de qualité et de sa fille. Pendant de l'INV. 1242". Musée du Louvre. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  9. ^ Thompson, Tom (2019). Australasian artists at the French Salons. Royal Exchange, NSW. ISBN 978-1-925706-70-3. OCLC 1102652144.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Clark, Jane; Whitelaw, Bridget; National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne) (1985). Golden summers : Heidelberg and beyond. The Rocks, Sydney: International Cultural Corporation of Australia. ISBN 9780642097811. OCLC 731056695.
  11. ^ "Works | NGV | View Work". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Works | NGV | View Work". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Works | NGV | View Work". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Works | NGV | View Work". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Works | NGV | View Work". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  16. ^ Artwork by Abbey Altson
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