Summary
This watercolour on paper, mounted in an ornate gilt frame, was made by John Mather (1848–1916) in 1911, and purchased for the collection through the Fine Arts Fund in 1978, from the Bartoni Gallery. Titled ‘Railway Yard’, the soft, dusky urban scene embodies the romance of a bygone era, when steam trains signalled the rise of the leisure class, the conquest of technology over distance, and the confident march of progress in the West.
Born in Hamilton, Scotland, Mather studied art at the Royal Institute of Fine Arts, Glasgow, before arriving in Australia in 1878. He initially laboured as a house decorator, but his fortunes shifted when he was engaged to paint the interior of the dome of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building, after which he was able to pursue his own practice. A painter – mainly of landscapes in the Scottish tradition – and an etcher, Mather also served the visual arts community as an educator and through his involvement with various organisations, including the National Gallery of Victoria, where he was a trustee.
