Julian Rossi Ashton: Australian Impressionism

Julian Rossi Ashton - The Gold Washer - 1889 - Oil on canvas, 213 x 117 cm - Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (click photo for larger image)Julian Rossi Ashton (1851-1942) was an Australian painter and writer. He attended the West London School of Art and, following the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, the Académie Julian in Paris. After teaching at the Art Society of New South Wales School from 1892 to 1896, he founded the Sydney Art School in 1896. It became a center of activity for aspiring young Australian artists. He continued to produce Impressionist-style portraits and landscapes throughout his life and influenced ideas of national patronage for Australian art. He encouraged government purchases and in 1913 lobbied for the foundation of the Education Department Gallery in Sydney.