Tom Roberts
Portrait taken c.1920-1925
Born	8 March 1856 Dorchester, Dorset, England
Died	14 September 1931 'Talisman' in Kallista
Resting place	Illawarra churchyard, near Longford, Tasmania
Other names	Nickname Bulldog
Occupation	Painter
Spouse	Elizabeth (Lillie) Williamson

Thomas William Roberts (8 March 1856–14 September 1931), usually known simply as Tom, was a famous Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 428 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 841 pixels, file size: 31 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Tom Roberts [picture] Date(s) of creation: ca. ... OS Grid Reference: SY690906 Lat/Lon: Population: 16,171 (2001 Census) Dwellings: 7,386 (2001 Census) Formal status: County town Administration County: Dorset Region: South West Nation: England Post Office and Telephone Post town: Dorchester Postcode: DT1 Dialling Code: 01305 Dorchester Dorchester is a market town in southern central Dorset... Kallista is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Lookout from the Illawarra Escarpment above Wombarra over the northern Illawarra plain viewing Austinmer, Thirroul, Bulli, Wollongong up to Port Kembla in the far. ... Longford is a town in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia. ... Slogan or Nickname: Island of Inspiration; The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Motto(s): Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. ...

Life

Born in Dorchester, Dorset, England, where his parents were newspaper editors, Roberts emigrated with his family to Australia in 1869. Settling in Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, he worked as a photographer's assistant through the 1870s while studying art at night under Louis Buvelot and befriending others who were to become prominent artists, notably Frederick McCubbin. He returned to England for three years of full-time art study at the Royal Academy Schools from 1881 to 1884. The main road through Dorchester Dorchester is a market town in south west Dorset, England, situated on the River Frome and A35 road 20 miles west of Poole and five miles north of Weymouth. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dɔ.sət], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Collingwood is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... Louis Buvelot (March 3, 1814 - 1888) was a Swiss-born painter. ... The Letter 1884 Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian painter who was prominent in the famous Heidelberg School, one of the most important periods in Australias visual arts history. ... The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Piccadilly, London. ...

Through the 1880s and 1890s he worked in Victoria, in his studio at the famous studio complex of Grosvenor chambers at number 9 Collins Street in Melbourne, and at a number of artists' camps and visits around the colony. He married 35 year old Elizabeth (Lillie) Williamson in 1896, and they had a son, Caleb. Many of his most famous paintings come from this period. Williamson was an expert maker of picture frames, and during the period 1903-1914, when he painted relatively little, much of his income apparently came from this work. His artwork the Big Picture was a masterpiece because the faces were so clearly done. VIC redirects here. ... Grosvenor Chambers at number 9 Collins Street, Melbourne was Australias first custom built complex of artists studios. ...

He spent World War I in England assisting at a hospital, and spent additional time there in the period 19Australia, he built a house at Kallista, near Melbourne. This was a particularly productive and happy period in Roberts' life. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Kallista is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

Elizabeth died in January 1928, and Tom remarried, to Jean Boyes, in August 1928. He died in 1931 of cancer at Kallista.

Works

The Big Picture, opening of the Parliament of Australia, 9 May 1901.

Shearing the Rams

Roberts painted a considerable number of fine oil landscapes and portraits, some painted at artist camps with his friend McCubbin, but perhaps his most famous works, of his era, were two large works, Shearing the Rams and The Big Picture. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2500x1571, 1206 KB) The Big Picture, the opening of the w:en:Parliament of Australia on 9 May 1901, painted by w:en:Tom Roberts. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2500x1571, 1206 KB) The Big Picture, the opening of the w:en:Parliament of Australia on 9 May 1901, painted by w:en:Tom Roberts. ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Representatives Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives David Hawker, Liberal Party since 16 November 2004 President of the Senate Alan Ferguson, Liberal Party since 14 August 2007 Members 226 (150 Representatives, 76 Senators) Political groups Liberal Party ALP National Party Country Liberal Party Greens... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2636x1768, 1262 KB) [edit] Summary Shearing the rams Artist: Tom Roberts (1856 - 1869) Date: 1888–1890 Media: Oil on canvas on composition board Size: 122. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2636x1768, 1262 KB) [edit] Summary Shearing the rams Artist: Tom Roberts (1856 - 1869) Date: 1888–1890 Media: Oil on canvas on composition board Size: 122. ...

Shearing the Rams, based on a visit to a sheep station (large farm) at Brocklesby in southern New South Wales, depicted the wool industry that had been Australia's first export industry and a staple of rural life. At the time it was exhibited, it was criticised because many critics did not feel that it fitted the definition of 'high art'. However, since the wool industry was Australia's greatest export industry at the time, it was a theme which many Australian people could identify with. The painting showed a view of the shearing sheds which was not in some cases realistic. Shearing would probably have been much messier; for instance the shearer on the left has picked the ram up to move it, when normally it would have been dragged backwards. Australian term for a large farm or Australian ranch, usually in the outback, whose main activity is the raising of sheep, for their wool and meat. ... Brocklesby is a small village situated 45 kilometres north west of Albury and 76 kilometres west of Holbrook in Greater Hume Shire Council in the Riverina area of New South Wales. ... “NSW” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Wool (disambiguation). ...

Roberts loved this theme of the value of the work of ordinary Australian people. He made many other paintings showing country people working, with a similar image of the shearing sheds in The Golden Fleece, a drover racing after sheep breaking away from the flock in A Break Away!, and with men chopping trees in Woodsplitters. Many of Roberts' paintings were landscapes or ideas done on small canvases that he did very quickly, such as his exhibits at the famous 9 x 5 exhibition in Melbourne, 9 x 5 referring to the size in inches of the cigar box lids which most of the paintings were done on. Roberts had more works on display in this exhibition than anyone else. Many of the paintings had humorous touches and anecdotes, showing Tom Roberts' sense of humour. A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who takes cattle over long distances, usually during a drought or season change in search of green pastures on which the cattle can feed. ... Cigar boxes are a kind of popular juggling prop, popularised by W C Fields, which can be used for various tricks, including high-speed box exchanging midair, balancing tricks, and more. ...

"The Big Picture", a depiction of the first sitting of the Parliament of Australia was an enormous work, very notable for the event depicted as well as the quality of Roberts' work. Type Bicameral Houses House of Representatives Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives David Hawker, Liberal Party since 16 November 2004 President of the Senate Alan Ferguson, Liberal Party since 14 August 2007 Members 226 (150 Representatives, 76 Senators) Political groups Liberal Party ALP National Party Country Liberal Party Greens...

References

• Topliss, Helen. Roberts, Thomas William (Tom) (1856 - 1931). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
• Topliss, Helen (1985). Tom Roberts 1856-1931: A Catalogue Raisonne Volumes I and II. Oxford University Press, USA, 544 pages. ISBN 0195545133. 

The Dictionary of Australian Biography is a reference work containing information on notable people associated with Australian history. ... The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, Australia. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ...

External links

• artistsfootsteps.com - source of most of the material for this article.
• ngv.vic.gov.au - "Shearing the Rams" at the National Gallery of Victoria.