Anton Riebe
Anton David Riebe (7 October 1904 – 11 April 1987) was a South Australian artist who painted mainly landscapes in oils and watercolours.[1][2][3] His artworks are held by the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Broken Hill City Art Gallery[4] and the Australian Stock Exchange as well as in numerous private collections.[5]
Life and career
[edit]Riebe was born on 7 October 1904, in Cottesloe, Western Australia.[6][7] He was the oldest son of Martin Riebe (1866–1941) and Ernestine Clara (née Wiesener) (1877–1964) who moved back from WA to SA in 1914. Martin and Ernestine Riebe were of German-Lutheran heritage from the Barossa Valley and they had four children (Gottfried Johannes "Erwin", Anton David, Linda Clara and Naemi "Ruth").[8][9]
Education
[edit]Anton studied at the School of Fine Arts in Tynte Street, North Adelaide (1925–1927) and he won a two-year scholarship to study at the South Australian School of Arts and Crafts in the early 1930s.[10][11] His principal teachers were Marie Tuck, Leslie Wilkie, Ivor Hele, Dorrit Black and Frederick Millward Grey. His contemporaries in South Australia included Kathleen Sauerbier, Rex Wood, Dora Chapman, Max Ragless[12] and Horace Trenerry.[13] He was later influenced by artists such as Hans Heysen and Len Annois.[14]
Career
[edit]Anton Riebe earned his living as a signwriter and commercial artist and he worked at John Martin's Department Store for over forty years (1934–1975).[15] One of his roles was as the chief designer for the John Martin's annual Christmas pageant floats. During WW2 he enlisted in the Australian Army (Citizen Military Force – Service Number S42233)[16] becoming an accredited "camofleur" and worked for the Royal Australian Air Force creating camouflage in Darwin and northern Australia.[17] For most of his life, Anton Riebe lived in the family home at 90 Young Street, Parkside with his father, Martin, (until his death in 1941) and mother, Ernestine Clara, (until her death in 1964) and his sister, Naemi "Ruth" (1918–2009), until they sold the house in 1966.[18]
Anton Riebe was a prolific painter, primarily of landscapes, and particularly after World War 2. He was active from the 1930s until his death in 1987.[19] He won the John Christie Wright Memorial Prize for Life Drawing in 1939[20] from the South Australian School of Art. He won third prize at the prestigeous Dunlop National Art competition in Melbourne in 1951[21] and he was a finalist in 1954.[22] He was a member of the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) in the 1940s. He was an associate member (from 1936), later a fellow and Council member (from 1939) of the Royal South Australian Society of Arts (RSASA). He was once described as "the poet of Port Willunga" by art critic Ian George.
Riebe regularly exhibited at RSASA exhibitions[23] including in 1937,[24] 1938,[25] 1939[26] and 1954[27] later holding solo exhibitions at the RSASA Gallery in 1949[28] and 1954[29] and a memorial exhibition in 1988 after his death. Anton Riebe also exhibited for many years at the John Martin's Art Gallery[30] where he held four solo exhibitions in 1946,[31] 1950,[32][33] 1952[34] and 1956. He exhibited at the Caltex Art Show held in the Civic Hall Reception Room at Port Lincoln in 1960.[35] Later in his life Anton Riebe exhibited watercolours and oil paintings at the Osborne Art Gallery[36] in Leigh Street where he was part of group exhibitions in 1966 and 1968. His work was included in an exhibition of Australian artists at Ingoldby Wines in McLaren Flat in October 1985.[37] The Barry Newton Gallery[38] had an exhibition of 80 oils and watercolours by the late Anton Riebe on behalf of Miss Ruth Riebe in September 1988. In August 1995 a new venture by Fine Art auctioneers Ian Bruce Pty. Ltd. in Pulteney Street called "The Gallery" opened with an exhibition of 92 sketches, watercolours and oils by Anton Riebe.[39]
Death
[edit]Riebe never married and he was living at 17A George Street in Clarence Park before being admitted to the Repatriation Hospital where he died of prostate cancer, aged 82 years, on 11 April 1987. He left his entire estate to his younger sister Ruth and he is buried in Centennial Park Cemetery on the Lutheran Lawn (Path 19, Grave 572).[40]
Works
[edit]Anton Riebe's artworks are part of the permanent collections of the following institutions:
- Art Gallery of South Australia[41]
References
[edit]- ^ Benko, Nancy (1969). Art and Artists of South Australia. Adelaide: Lidums. p. 121.
- ^ "Anton Riebe". Art Gallery of South Australia. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ McDonald, Jan (1986). Australian Artists' Index. Sydney, NSW: Arts Libraries Society. p. 342. ISBN 0947101004.
- ^ "BHCAG".
- ^ "Anton David Riebe". AskART. 13 January 2025.
- ^ Campbell, Jean (1983). Australian Watercolour Painters 1780-1980. Adelaide: Rigby. p. 105. ISBN 0727017381.
- ^ McCulloch, Alan (1994). Encyclopedia of Australian Art (3rd ed.). St Leonards, NSW.: Allen & Unwin. p. 465. ISBN 9780090814206.
- ^ "Online Database Search".
- ^ Todd, Allan (9 January 2025). "Anton David Riebe". Ancestry.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "Anton David Riebe". Australia and New Zealand Art Sales Digest. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "RESULTS OF ARTS AND CRAFTS SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS". News (Adelaide). p. 6. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Maxwell Christopher (Max) Ragless (1901–1981)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "Horace Hurtle Trenerry (1899–1958)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "Personal". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 10 June 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ^ "Anton David Riebe".
- ^ https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6334122
- ^ "Citizen Military Forces Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947; Series: B884. S115598. Item ID 6334122". National Archives of Australia; Canberra, Australia. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ Riebe (1926–1966). "Certificate of Title 976/35". SAILIS (South Australian Integrated Land Information System). Retrieved 10 January 2025.
- ^ "Successful Art Show". The Coromandel (Blackwood). 11 November 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ^ "School Of Arts And Crafts Prize Awards". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 21 April 1939. p. 16. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Won Third Prize In Art Contest". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 16 May 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Slate Paintings For Rich Prize". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 2 April 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ^ Autumn and Spring Exhibition catalogues. Art Gallery of SA Library. Adelaide: South Australian Society of Arts. 1937–1941.
- ^ "FEWER PICTURES BUT OF HIGH STANDARD". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 16 September 1937. p. 19. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "GOOD DISPLAY OF PICTURES". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 15 September 1938. p. 11. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "SOCIETY OF ARTS SPRING SHOW". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 14 September 1939. p. 10. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ "Art show has wide variety". The Mail (Adelaide). 20 March 1954. p. 20. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ^ "ANTON RIEBE EXHIBITION". The Mail (Adelaide). 5 March 1949. p. 8. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Interesting Riebe show". News (Adelaide). 21 September 1954. p. 32. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Attractive, varied show of landscapes". The News (Adelaide). 16 April 1953. p. 9. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ^ "EXHIBITION BY ANTON RIEBE". News (Adelaide). 4 April 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "About People". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 25 April 1950. p. 9. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ "Good points in paintings". The Mail (Adelaide). 29 April 1950. p. 44. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Interesting Exhibition By Anton Riebe". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 20 September 1952. p. 11. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Artist's Impressions of Exhibition". Port Lincoln Times. 23 June 1960. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Osborne Art Gallery (1962 – 31 August 1978) · Australian Prints + Printmaking".
- ^ "Special events". Victor Harbor Times. 25 October 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Barry Newton Gallery. (By 1985) · Exhibition History · Australian Prints + Printmaking".
- ^ "Riebe works launch new gallery". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 5 August 1995. p. 23.
- ^ "Online Database Search".
- ^ "Anton Riebe". Art Gallery of South Australia. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.