Design and Art Australia Online

George Pitt Morrison was a painter and curator. Born in Melbourne, he studied part time at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne from 1880 and worked in the photographic trade. He was a member of the Australian Artists’ Association in 1886. He joined Arthur Streeton and the other artists at the Heidelberg artists’ camps. He went to Paris in 1890 where he studied at the Academie Julian under Lef_bvre and Bouguereau. He shared a studio in Paris, visited Madrid and returned to Melbourne in 1893.

Pit Morrison moved to Fremantle in 1894 and worked in Bunbury in a photographic studio. In 1895 a painting of his was the first locally produced work purchased for the new Art Gallery. In 1896 he prospected unsuccessfully. He became a draughtsman in the Lands and Surveys Department and married in 1899. In 1906 he was appointed as assistant in the art section of the Museum and Art Gallery. He remained there until 1942, having been appointed Assistant in charge of the Art Gallery in 1925 and later Curator.

He was a founding member of the West Australian Society of Arts, exhibiting from 1902 and serving as President in 1906. He exhibited pastels, watercolours and oil paintings. He was a member of the Western Institute of Artists and exhibited with them in Art Gallery of Western Australia in 192. In 1933 he became a member and exhibited oil paintings with the Perth Society of Artists in their first exhibition. He continued to exhibit with the Society until 1945 when he moved to Melbourne. He died the following year. Charles Hamilton wrote of him in 1939: “has a fine eye for a picture. It is a pity this artist cannot devote more time to his studies, for one is always tantalized by the thought of what he could really do if he had the opportunity.”

Writers:

Dr Dorothy Erickson

Date written:

2010

Last updated:

2011