Walter Withers b. 22 October 1854

Also known as Walter Herbert Withers
  • Artist (Draughtsman),
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator),
  • Artist (Printmaker),
  • Artist (Painter)
The English born painter Walter Withers is known for his moody landscapes of the Victorian landscape around Heidelberg, Eaglemont and Creswick. In the brotherhood that was the Heidelberg school he was called 'The Colonel' for his ability to organise the others. He rented the old farmstead at Charterisville that became the home for a generation of painters in 1890 and he also taught and mentored many of his younger colleagues.
Tags: Heidelberg School
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painter, lithographer and art teacher, was born Handsworth, Staffordshire on 22 October 1854. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools [and/or?] South Kensington from the [late?] 1870s to 1882. After reaching Victoria in December 1882 he humped his bluey through country districts and got to know the bush. In 1884-87 he worked in Melbourne as a draughtsman with William Inglis & Co. and Ferguson & Mitchell, lithographic printers. He also exhibited original drawings with the Victorian Academy of Arts.

After returning to London to marry a painter and music teacher, Withers came back to Melbourne in 1889 at the invitation of Ferguson & Mitchell to work as an illustrator. He illustrated Edmund Finn’s Chronicles of Early Melbourne (Ferguson & Mitchell, Melbourne 1890) and contributed illustrations to Bohemia , eg supplement 29 October 1891 with 'sporting’ gentlemen as well as one of the jockeys. He was, however, known as a painter in his lifetime and later.

He did oil on panel Droving Sheep offered by Bridget McDonnell Gallery in May 2001 (cat.12 ill.). The catalogue notes that Adelaide Anthony of Aldershot, England, stated in a letter of 1927 that Withers had given her painting after it had been in an exhibition in Melbourne in 1914. She gave it to her daughter, Barbara Anthony.

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Writers:
Kerr, Joan
Date written:
1996
Last updated:
2007

Difference between this version and previous

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Date modified Dec. 27, 2011, 11:02 p.m. Oct. 19, 2011, 2:06 p.m.
Residences
  • c.1854 - c.1870 Aston Manor, Warwickshire, England
  • c.1870 - c.1882 London, England, UK
  • c.1883 - 1887 Melbourne, Vic.
  • c.1887 - 1887 Handsworth-with-Soho, Staffordshire, England
  • 1887 Paris, France
  • 1888 - 1890 Melbourne, Vic.
  • 1890 - 1893 Charterisville, Ivanhoe, Melbourne, Vic.
  • 1893 Creswick, Vic.
  • 1894 - 1902 Heidelberg, Melbourne, Vic.
  • 1902 - 13 October 1914 Eltham, Melbourne, Vic.
  • c.1890 - c.1900 Charterisville, Eaglemont, Melbourne, Vic
  • c.1879 - c.1882 London, England, UK
  • c.1897 - c.1900 Heidelberg, Melbourne, Victoria
  • c.1884 - c.1914 Melbourne, Victoria
Other occupations
  • draughtsman 1893 Creswick, Vic.
  • art teacher 1894 - c.1897 Heidelberg, Melbourne, Vic.
  • draughtsman
  • art teacher
Tags
  • Heidelberg School
Alternative names
  • Walter Herbert Withers
Arrivals
  • 1882
  • 1882
Related people
  • Fox, Emanuel Phillips (associate of)
  • Fox, Emanuel Phillips (associate of)
Related person groups
  • Heidelberg School (associate of)
  • Victorian Academy of Arts (associate of)
  • Heidelberg School (associate of)
  • Victorian Academy of Arts (associate of)
Related works
  • Droving Sheep (creator of)
  • Droving Sheep (creator of)
Related collections
  • Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
  • Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
Related events
  • Victorian Academy of Arts (exhibited at)
  • Untitled Event (exhibited at)
  • Victorian Academy of Arts (exhibited at)
  • Untitled Event (exhibited at)
Field Changes
Biography
Death embedded
Coverage
Place Eltham, Melbourne, Victoria Victoria
embedded
Date
Precision 2
Summary