Australian artist John Peter Russell, born in 1858, was interested in art from a young age. Following his father's death in 1879, he enrolled at the Slade School of Fine Art and continued at Cormon's atelier in Paris where he became friends with Vincent van Gogh. Russell painted van Gogh's portrait that's displayed in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. In 1886, painter John Peter Russell met Monet on the Brittany island of Belle-Ile. Monet influenced his thinking and work, and from this encounter Russell developed his bold Impressionist style seen in seascapes, landscapes, and portraiture.
Russell made Bell-Ile his home, and he lived there for 20 years until his wife's death. After the First World War, artist John Peter Russell returned to Australia, settling in Sydney. As is often common, it was years before Russell's landscape paintings for sale were fully appreciated. Bring the world into your home with fine landscapes paintings offered for sale online at Invaluable.
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) VUE DE LINCOLN, ANGLETERRE Aquarelle sur papier Signé et situé en bas à gauche Watercolor on paper; signed and located lower left 24 X 34 CM • 9 1/2 X 13 1/8 IN.
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) VILLAGE CÔTIER EN NORMANDIE Aquarelle et crayon sur papier Signé des initiales de l'artiste en bas à droite Watercolor and pencil on paper; signed with the artist's initials lower right 27,5 X 39 CM • 10 7/8 X 15 3/8 IN.
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) LE PONT Aquarelle et crayon sur papier Signé des initiales de l'artiste en bas à droite Watercolor and pencil on paper; signed with the artist's initials lower right 17 X 25,5 CM • 6 3/4 X 10 IN.
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) BORD DE RIVE Huile sur toile marouflée sur carton Signée des initiales de l'artiste en bas à droite Oil on canvas laid on cardboard; signed with the artist's initials lower right 31 X 35 CM • 12 1/4 X 13 3/4 IN.
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) LA CATHÉDRALE SAINT-ANDRÉ DE WELLS Aquarelle et crayon sur papier Signé des initiales de l'artiste en bas à droite Watercolor and pencil on paper; signed with the artist's initials lower right 18 X 26 CM • 7 1/8 X 10 1/4 IN.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Bois De Boulogne, Paris, 1905 watercolour, pastel and pencil on paper titled, dated and signed l.l.c. 'Bois De B. P. January 1905 - John Russell'
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) A Felice Souvenir of Macks Island, New Zealand, 1922 watercolour on paper signed l.r.c. 'John Russell' inscribed and dated l.m. 'A Felice Souvenir of Macks Island, N.Z., 1922'
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 - 1930) CRUACH EN MAHR, MATIN, BELLE-ÎLE-EN-MER, c.1905 oil on canvas 60.5 x 73.5 cm signed lower left: J. P. RUSSELL signed verso: J. P. RUSSELL artist’s label attached verso, signed and inscribed with title: CRUACH EN MAHR / J.P. RUSSELL / BELLE ÎLE EN MER PROVENANCE Private collection, France Christie's, Melbourne, 28 April 1992, lot 186 Private collection, London, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Salon d'Automne, Troisième Exposition, Grand Palais, Paris, 18 October – 25 November 1905, cat. 1388 (as 'Cruach en Mahr, (matin)'), label attached to frame verso Belle–Île: Monet, Russell & Matisse in Brittany, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 24 November 2001 – 3 February 2002, and touring Queensland Art Gallery 14 February - 21 April 2002, cat. 30 (as 'Morning, Cruach en Mahr, Belle–Île–en–Mer (Cruach en Mahr, matin, Belle–Île–en–Mer)') Australia's Impressionists, The National Gallery, London, 7 December 2016 – 26 March 2017 (label attached verso) John Peter Russell: Australia's French Impressionist, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 July – 11 November 2018 LITERATURE Galbally, A., The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, cat. 168, p. 108 Galbally, A. et al, Belle Île: Monet, Russell & Matisse in Brittany, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2001, pp. 101 (illus.), 127 Galbally, A., A remarkable friendship : Vincent van Gogh and John Peter Russell, Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne, 2008, p.240 Riopelle, C. (ed.), Australia's Impressionists, National Gallery Company and Yale University Press, London, 2016, cat. 41, pp. 59, 107 (illus.), 118, 125 Tunnicliffe, W. (ed.), John Peter Russell: Australia's French Impressionist, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2018, pp. 88, 145, 146 (illus.), 152 (illus.), 228 ESSAY John Russell holds a unique place in Australian art history for his close association with avant-garde circles in 1880s Paris and his firsthand acquaintance with some of the masters of European Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Following studies at the Slade School, London in 1881, he attended Fernand Cormon’s atelier in Paris in the mid-1880s, working alongside Émile Bernard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and later, Vincent van Gogh. The two artists established an enduring friendship which is documented in their extensive personal correspondence.1 Russell was one of the few artists to paint van Gogh and the 1886 portrait, now in the collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, was treasured by the Dutchman who later asked his brother Theo to ‘take good care of my portrait by Russell which means a lot to me.’2 There is also a sheet of profile sketches of van Gogh in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Russell’s deep interest in Japanese art, which is reflected in the group of spring blossom paintings made during the late 1880s, was also encouraged by van Gogh who collected Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints – developing a collection which numbered in the hundreds – and inspiring his friend to do the same. On a summer break from Paris in 1886, Russell spent several months on Belle-Île, one of a group of small islands off the coast of Brittany. It was here that he met and befriended Claude Monet who he saw working en plein air and, recognising his painting style, famously introduced himself by asking if he was indeed ‘the Prince of the Impressionists’. Inevitably flattered, Monet, who was eighteen years Russell’s senior, took a liking to the young Australian and dined with him and his beautiful wife-to-be, Marianna, enjoying their hospitality and company during his stay on the island. Uncharacteristically, Monet allowed Russell to watch him work and on occasion, to paint alongside him, experiences that provided the younger artist with an extraordinary insight into the techniques and working method of one of the founders of the Impressionist movement. The influence on Russell was significant and the paintings he made in Italy and Sicily only a few months later show him working in a new style, using a high-keyed palette (from which black had been banished entirely) and his compositions made up of strokes of pure colour.3 In addition to showing him how to use colour as a means of expressing a personal response to the subject, Monet’s example also highlighted for Russell the importance of working directly from nature.4 Belle-Île is part of the accurately named La Côte Sauvage, buffeted by almost constant westerly winds blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. With a rugged landscape as yet untouched by tourism, it offered little in the way of obvious picturesque views but ‘instead… the challenge of a raw confrontation with nature for which there was no tradition of painterly representation.’5 Russell and Monet were both liberated and excited by the task of representing ‘the solid yet fantastical in the form of the rock formations on the western coastline, with the fluid and the mercurial – the sea, waves and spray … being forced beyond … previous boundaries into unknown territory.’6 During his visit to the island, Monet wrote to fellow artist Gustave Caillebotte, ‘I am in a superbly wild country, a heap of terrible rocks and an improbable sea of colours.’7 In July 1888, Russell wrote to van Gogh, ‘I am a painter of nature, of nature’s moods, of sunlight and (the) changing temper of the sea.’8 Similarly, Henri Matisse, who visited Belle-Île in 1895 and met Russell there the following year said simply, ‘Here it is wildness in all its beauty and emptiness.’9 Inherited wealth afforded Russell many freedoms and inspired by the possibilities of Belle-Île, he bought land overlooking the inlet of Goulphar in 1887, writing to his friend, Tom Roberts, ‘I am about to build a house in France. Settle down for some five years. Get some work done. It will be in some out of the way corner as much as a desert as possible.’10 Building a well-appointed home known as Château de l’Anglais (or Château de Goulphar), complete with a large studio, workshop and expansive garden, Russell lived there permanently until 1909/10. He came to know the geography of Belle-Île intimately and as an accomplished yachtsman, often sailed around the island experiencing the physical power and changing moods of the ocean. While La Pointe de Morestil par mer calme (Calm Sea at Morestil Point), 1901 (Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art) describes tranquil waters, Rough sea, Belle-Île, 1900 (National Gallery of Victoria), captures the opposite extreme in a luminous example of Russell’s painterly dynamism, the energy of his brushstrokes mirroring the turbulence of the ocean. Russell scholar Ann Galbally has described the ‘intensity of vision’ that characterises the works made on Belle-Île, where his focus on a limited range of subjects – the sea, the rocks, rugged coastline and figure studies – encouraged bold formal experimentation in paintings that captured the changing light and atmospheric conditions of the environment, as well as displaying his committed pursuit of pure colour.11 Cruach en Mahr, Matin, Belle-Île-en-Mer, c.1905 is one of a group of paintings produced around the turn of the century that depicts the tranquil waters of Port Goulphar. Painted from a location close to Russell’s home on the south-western side of the island, it describes a view that was very familiar to him. Looking across the protected bay, it takes in a group of moored fishing boats in the foreground, the rocky coastline and undulating hillside which rises up dramatically almost to the top of the canvas, capped by a sliver of sky. The red sail, Port Goulphar, c.1900, in the collection of the Musée d’Orsay/ Musée de Morlaix, depicts a similar view, although the palette could not be more different, as vivid colours reflect the bright sunshine of mid-afternoon. By contrast (and as the title indicates), the predominantly blue, green and purple colour palette of Cruach en Mahr, Matin, Belle-Île-en-Mer – describes a morning view, before the sun has fully risen and while the hillside and water’s edge are still cast in deep shadow. Russell describes the gentle, rhythmic movement of the water in freely applied squiggles of paint and the hillside is composed of layered brushstrokes of intense colour, as well as glimpses of exposed raw canvas. Russell’s brilliance as a colourist is on full display in this painting, as is his ability to communicate as much about the feeling of being in the landscape as its physical and geographical features. Adopting the Impressionist practice of painting the same subject at different times of the day and during different seasons, Russell had an indefatigable interest in exploring the varied effects of light and weather and the resulting chromatic range of this familiar and yet ever-changing landscape. Continually inspired by Belle-Île, he wrote ‘the colours completely bowl me over. On some days here it’s ravishing but impossible for my poor palette.’12 Russell evidently regarded this painting highly, as it is one of only a small number he chose to exhibit publicly during his lifetime. He entered it into the 1905 Salon d’Automne, the newly-established annual exhibition held at the Grand Palais in Paris, which displayed the most progressive contemporary art, and the label attached to its frame is evidence that it was accepted and catalogued as number 1388. The 1905 Salon d’Automne is particularly significant as the occasion on which the term ‘Fauvist’ was coined in response to the ‘wild dashes of colour’ in the new paintings of Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck. It is apposite that Russell was represented in this salon given the role he had played in the dramatic transformation of Matisse’s approach to colour and indeed, given his own reputation as one of the most daring and talented colourists of his day. The young Frenchman spent three months on Belle-Île in 1896, fortuitously meeting Russell who subsequently introduced him to Monet’s techniques and to the work of van Gogh, gifting him one of the pen and ink drawings the Dutchman had sent him from Arles some years earlier. This encounter contributed to the development of what his biographer, Hilary Spurling, described as ‘a way of seeing: the first inklings of the pursuit of colour for its own sake that would draw in the end on his deepest emotional and imaginative resources.’13 In more recent years Cruach en Mahr, Matin, Belle-Île-en-Mer has been included in several important exhibitions: Belle-Île: Monet, Russell & Matisse in Brittany at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2001; the John Russell retrospective, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2018 and the 2016 – 17 exhibition, Australia’s Impressionists, at the National Gallery, London. The first ever exhibition in the United Kingdom to focus on the art of Australia’s Impressionists, this show was part of the National Gallery’s expanded mission to collect, display and study the work of artists working within the tradition of European representational painting but further afield, away from the places usually acknowledged as the centres of artistic production.14 Elaborating on the significance of Cruach en Mahr, Matin, Belle-Île-en-Mer within Russell’s oeuvre and its importance in the exhibition, the Director of the National Gallery, Dr Gabriele Finaldi wrote, ‘This unconventional view of the coastline of Port Goulphar not yet fully illuminated by the rising sun suggests the lessons Russell absorbed from painting en plein air alongside Claude Monet, and the indefatigable interest Russell developed for capturing the varying effects of light and weather on the rugged landscape of his adopted home of Belle-Île. In its complex layering of intense, contrasting colour, veiled with the dominant key of electric blue, we see Russell in full force as a colourist, exploring the dense chromatic modulations of shadow.’15 Russell played a crucial role in the exhibition and indeed, an entire section of the display was dedicated to his art. Shown alongside Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder, Russell’s significant place among the very best of Australia’s artists working in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was made clear, as was his utterly unique role as a vital and direct link between Australian art and French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Alongside these national and international exhibitions of Russell’s work, institutional acquisitions have taken place as galleries and museums strive to ensure their collections represent the best of his painting. The offering of this painting represents an increasingly rare opportunity to acquire a major painting by John Russell. 1. Although Russell did not see van Gogh again after he departed for Arles in the south of France in early 1888, their friendship continued via correspondence. See Galbally, A., A Remarkable Friendship: Vincent van Gogh and John Peter Russell, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2008 2. Taylor, E., ‘John Russell and friends: Roberts, Monet, van Gogh, Matisse, Rodin’, Australian Impressionists in France, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2013, p. 56 3. ibid., p. 60 4. Prunster, U., ‘Painting Belle-Île’, in Prunster, U., et al., Belle-Île: Monet, Russell and Matisse, exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2001, p. 31 5. Galbally, A., ‘Mer Sauvage’, in Prunster, U., ibid., p. 14 6. Galbally, 2001, op. cit., p. 13 7. Prunster, ‘Painting Belle-Île’, op. cit., p. 19 8. ibid., p. 29 9. ibid. 10. Russell to Tom Roberts, 5 October 1887, cited in Tunnicliffe, W., (ed.), John Russell: Australia’s French Impressionist, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2018, p. 193 11. Galbally, 2001, op cit., p. 15 12. Russell to Auguste Rodin, April-May 1890, cited in Prunster, ‘Painting Belle-Île’, op. cit., p. 46 13. Spurling, H., The Unknown Matisse: A Life of Henri Matisse, Volume One: 1869-1908, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1998, p. 144, cited in Taylor, op. cit., p. 65 14. See Riopelle, C., ‘Australia’s Impressionists in a World Context’ in Australia’s Impressionists, National Gallery Company, London, 2016, pp. 14 – 16 15. Dr Gabriel Finaldi to the vendor, 16 June 2016 KIRSTY GRANT
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) Foothills, Southern France 1920 watercolour on paper signed and dated lower left: John P. Russell/ 20 26.5 x 37.5cm PROVENANCE: Christie's, Melbourne, 22 August 2000, lot 101 Private collection, Melbourne
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) French Coastal View 1907 watercolour on paper 23.5 x 33.5 cm; 39.5 x 48.5 cm (framed) signed and dated lower right: JOHN. RUSSELL./ 07
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Maisons À Belle-Île, 1908 signed and dated lower right: 'JOHN RUSSELL 1908' watercolour and pencil on paper 26.0 x 36.0cm (10 1/4 x 14 3/16in).
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 - 1930) SOUVENIR DE BELLE–ÎLE (MARIANNA RUSSELL WITH GOATS, GOULPHAR, BELLE–ÎLE), 1897 oil on canvas 65.0 x 81.5 cm signed, dated and inscribed with title lower centre: TO. FRIEND. WILL. MALONEY. J. P. RUSSELL. 1897. - SOUVENIR. DE. BELLE. iLE. signed, dated and inscribed verso: J. P. RUSSELL. / BELLE ILE / 1897. artists’ colourmen stamp verso: Rey & Perrot, Paris framer's label attached verso: R J Stannard, London PROVENANCE Dr William Maloney, Melbourne, a gift from the artist in 1897 Thence by descent Private collection, Melbourne, daughter of the above Thence by descent Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITED On loan to the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1942 - 1943 John Peter Russell: Australian Impressionist, University Art Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, 25 February – 19 March 1978; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 March – 6 May 1978; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 May – 26 June 1978, cat. 35 (partial label attached verso) LITERATURE Galbally, A., The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, cat. 154, pp. 11, 106 RELATED WORK Bergère en blanc avec des chèvres, c.1897, oil on canvas, 110.0 x 178.0 cm, in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, France, on loan to the Musée des Jacobins, Morlaix, illus. in Jourdan, P. et al., John-Peter Russell, un Impressionniste Australien, Musee des Jacobins, Morlaix, 1997, p. 31 We are grateful to Peter Perry OAM for his assistance with this catalogue entry. ESSAY John Peter Russell holds a unique place in Australian art history as a result of his close association with avant-garde circles in 1880s Paris and his firsthand acquaintance with masters of European Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. As a student at Fernand Cormon’s atelier in Paris in the mid-1880s, Russell worked alongside Émile Bernard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and later, Vincent van Gogh, with whom he established an enduring friendship.1 On a summer break from Paris in 1886, Russell spent several months on Belle-Île, one of a group of small islands off the coast of Brittany. It was here that he met and befriended Claude Monet who he saw working en plein air, famously introducing himself by asking if Monet was indeed ‘the Prince of the Impressionists’. Inevitably flattered, Monet, who was eighteen years Russell’s senior, took a liking to the young Australian and dined with him and his beautiful wife-to-be, enjoying their hospitality and company during his stay on the island. Uncharacteristically, Monet also allowed Russell to watch him work and on occasion, to paint alongside him, experiences that provided an extraordinary insight into the techniques and working method of one of the founders of the Impressionist movement. The influence on Russell was significant and the paintings he made in Italy and Sicily only a few months later show him working in a new style, creating compositions that are made up of strokes of pure high-keyed colour.2 ‘… But when we get to color. The gorse & heather. Yellow & purple, orange boat sails, blue sea. Red rocks, Green sea. All a matter of feeling. Tis in the man with brush & paint pot or it is not.’3 Captivated by the rugged beauty of Belle-Île and attuned to the possibilities that both the environment and the simple, rural way of life presented for his art, Russell – whose inherited wealth meant he didn’t have to find paid employment – bought land overlooking the inlet of Goulphar in 1887. Writing to Tom Roberts, he said, ‘I am about to build a house in France. Settle down for some five years. Get some work done. It will be in some out of the way corner as much as a desert as possible.’4 Around 1884 Russell had met Marianna Mattiocco, probably in the studio of his friend, the British artist Harry Bates (1850 - 99). An Italian beauty, she was the model for Bates’ bas-relief sculpture, Dido, Queen of Carthage, 1885 (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff) and had also possibly modelled for Rodin. Following the birth of the first two of their twelve children (many of whom did not survive infancy), they formalised the relationship, marrying in 1888. Russell commissioned Rodin to sculpt a portrait bust of Marianna early that year – cast in 1889, it was the first of several works which the master modelled on her classical features – and this initiated a longstanding and intimate friendship between the artists. 6 The family moved to Belle-Île in the summer of 1888 and lived there permanently until 1909 - 10 when the house was sold following Marianna’s premature death. Russell developed an intimate knowledge of the island’s geography, both from the land and the sea, and this informed many of his best-known paintings such as Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île, 1887 (Art Gallery of New South Wales) and Rough Sea, Belle-Île, 1900 (National Gallery of Victoria), which capture the distinctive light, changing colours and atmospheric conditions of the area. The island attracted many visitors. Even Sarah Bernhardt bought property and spent her summer holidays on Belle-Île from 1894 - 1922, saying, ‘I like to come every year to this picturesque island, to taste all the charm of its wild and grandiose beauty. I draw new artistic forces from its invigorating and restful sky.’ 7 The young Henri Matisse spent three months on Belle-Île in 1896, fortuitously meeting Russell who introduced him to Monet’s techniques and the work of van Gogh, gifting him one of the pen and ink drawings the Dutchman had sent him from Arles some years earlier. This encounter contributed to a dramatic transformation in Matisse’s approach to colour which his biographer, Hilary Spurling, described as ‘a way of seeing: the first inklings of the pursuit of colour for its own sake that would draw in the end on his deepest emotional and imaginative resources.’8 Russell continued to be inspired by Belle-Île, writing to Rodin in 1890, ‘the colours completely bowl me over. On some days here it’s ravishing but impossible for my poor palette.’ 9 His mastery and expressive use of colour is on full display in So uvenir de Belle-Île, 1897. In the foreground a figure wearing traditional Breton dress leads a pair of goats along the cliff top, brilliantly illuminated by a full moon that sits high in the sky. The dramatic, predominantly purple sky appears to glow and the sensation of the strange ‘in-between’ light of dusk, which teases the eye and makes it hard to focus clearly, is skilfully rendered. The crisp white of the figure’s dress and cap provides a central focal point, highlighting the vivid colours of the surrounding scene: the yellow and greens of the grassy ground, the purple shadows cast by the figure and her goats, and the deep blue tones of the ocean – described by Monet as ‘an improbable sea of colours’ 10– with its distinctive rocky outcrops. While Russell is renowned as a bold and inventive colourist, this is surely one of the most dazzling examples of his work. A contemporary photograph shows Marianna dressed in local costume, posing on the cliff top as Russell, seated at an easel in the foreground, works on the larger, closely related painting, B ergère en blanc avec des chèvres, c.1897 (Musée d’Orsay, France). While the goats do not appear in the photograph, they were family pets and a familiar element of the Russell’s cliff-top home, which consisted of a large stone house and expansive garden, as well as various outbuildings including a studio that opened directly out to the ocean. In addition to highlighting the importance for Russell of working directly from the subject, the photograph and a comparison of the two paintings reveals aspects of his working method; changes in perspective and scale, varied use of colour and compositional choices that in the larger painting, result in a stronger emphasis on the figure who is depicted as an almost heroic representation of traditional rural life. Such subject matter reflects the prevailing influence of Barbizon School painter Jean-François Millet, whose paintings celebrated the nobility of peasant workers and their labour, and a growing awareness at the end of the nineteenth century that this way of life was disappearing. According to Ann Galbally, ‘It was against a background of romanticization of the primitive that [Russell] moved his wife and family to Belle-Île … and to ultimately forswear subject-painting, decorative art, even portrait painting in favour of a painterly identification with his rural surroundings.’11 As the inscription which runs along the bottom of the painting indicates, Souvenir de Belle-Île was a gift from the artist to his friend Will Maloney, an Australian doctor and later in life, long-serving Labor politician. In the summer of 1883 Maloney, Russell, his brother Sydney and Tom Roberts travelled through France and Spain and Maloney, who subsequently worked at hospitals in London, visited Russell in Paris on several occasions. It was on his final visit in 1887, prior to his return to Australia, that Maloney sat for Russell who painted a small portrait of his friend which is now in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. An informal study of the young Maloney, the portrait holds particular significance as the first painting made using the Impressionist technique to arrive in Australia.12 Maloney and Russell maintained a correspondence and in 1897, Russell sent this painting to his friend in Melbourne, which has remained in the possession of the Maloney family ever since. 1. Although Russell did not see van Gogh again after he departed for Arles in the south of France in early 1888, their friendship continued via an extensive correspondence. See Galbally, A., A Remarkable Friendship: Vincent van Gogh and John Peter Russell, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2008 2. Taylor, E., ‘John Russell and friends: Roberts, Monet, van Gogh, Matisse, Rodin’, Australian Impressionists in France, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2013, p. 60 3. Russell to Tom Roberts, 5 October 1887 quoted in Tunnicliffe, W., (ed.), John Russell: Australia’s French Impressionist, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2018, p. 53 4. Ibid., p. 193 5. See Onfray, G., translated by Lucie Reeves-Smith , “The most Breton of foreign painters of the era”, John-Peter Russell, Un impressionniste australien, Musée des Jacobins, Morlaix, 1997, pp. 8-9. Galbally, A., The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, p. 28 and Tunnicliffe, ibid., p. 26 6. See Taylor, op. cit., p. 68 7. Sarah Bernhardt quoted in The summers of Sarah Bernhardt at Les Poulains | Belle-Île-en-Mer Tourist Office – Official Website (belleileenmer.co.uk), accessed 14 July 2023 8. Spurling, H., The Unknown Matisse: A Life of Henri Matisse, Volume One: 1869-1908, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1998, p. 144 quoted in Taylor, op. cit., p. 65 9. Russell to Auguste Rodin, April-May 1890 quoted in quoted in Prunster, U., ‘Painting Belle-Île’, Prunster, U., et al., Belle-Île: Monet, Russell and Matisse, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2001, p. 46 10. Claude Monet to Gustave Caillebotte, 11 October 1886, ibid., p. 19 11. Galbally, A., The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, p. 47 12. Taylor, op. cit., p. 53 KIRSTY GRANT
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 - 1930) SNOW IN THE ALPS (SWITZERLAND), c.1912 - 15 watercolour on paper 35.0 x 51.0 cm (sight) signed lower left edge: JOHN. RUSSELL – bears inscription verso: MG/60 / SNOW IN THE / ALPS PROVENANCE Private collection Christie's, Sydney, October 1971, lot 54 Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Brisbane The Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Christie's, Brisbane, 6 June 1989, lot 191 Henry Krongold, Melbourne The Estate of Paul Krongold, Melbourne EXHIBITED Master Works from the Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 21 September – 14 December 1977, cat. 38 (label attached verso) Watercolours in the Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 4 May – 6 June 1978 (label attached verso)
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 - 1930) DADONE, c.1900 oil on canvas 32.0 x 25.5 cm signed with initials and inscribed with title upper right: Dadone / J.R / FeciT PROVENANCE The artist Thence by descent Jeanne Jouve, the artist’s eldest child and only daughter Private collection, a gift from the above in 1948 Private collection, Paris, purchased in 2000 Sotheby's, Melbourne, 19 September 2005, lot 10 The Reg Grundy AC OBE and Joy Chambers-Grundy Collection (label attached verso) Important Australian Art from the Collection of Red Grundy AC OBE and Joy Chambers-Grundy, Bonhams, Sydney, 26 June 2013, lot 72 Private collection, Melbourne ESSAY John Peter Russell holds a unique place in Australian art history for his close association with avant-garde circles in 1880s Paris and his firsthand acquaintance with masters of European Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. As a student at Fernand Cormon’s atelier in Paris in the mid-1880s, Russell worked alongside Émile Bernard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and later, Vincent van Gogh, with whom he established an enduring friendship.1 On a summer break from Paris in 1886, Russell spent several months on Belle-Île, one of a group of small islands off the coast of Brittany. It was here that he met and befriended Claude Monet who he saw working en plein air, famously introducing himself by asking if Monet was indeed ‘the Prince of the Impressionists’. Inevitably flattered, Monet, who was eighteen years Russell’s senior, took a liking to the young Australian and dined with him and his beautiful wife-to-be, enjoying their hospitality and company during his stay on the island. Uncharacteristically, Monet also allowed Russell to watch him work and on occasion, to paint alongside him, experiences that provided an extraordinary insight into the techniques and working method of one of the founders of the Impressionist movement. The influence on Russell was significant and the paintings he made in Italy and Sicily only a few months later show him working in a new style, creating compositions that are made up of strokes of pure high-keyed colour.2 Captivated by the rugged beauty of Belle-Île and attuned to the possibilities the environment presented for the development of his art, Russell – whose inherited wealth meant he didn’t have to find paid employment – bought land overlooking the inlet of Goulphar in 1887. Writing to Tom Roberts, he said, ‘I am about to build a house in France. Settle down for some five years. Get some work done. It will be in some out of the way corner as much as a desert as possible.’3 Living there permanently until 1909, Russell developed an intimate knowledge of the island’s geography, both from the land and the sea, and this informed many of his best known paintings such as Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île, 1887 (Art Gallery of New South Wales) and Rough Sea, Belle-Île, 1900 (National Gallery of Victoria), which capture the distinctive light, changing colours and atmospheric conditions of his island home. Russell was also a talented painter of portraits and just as his images of the Belle-Île landscape describe areas he knew intimately, so too, the subjects of his portraits are typically people with whom he had a close relationship. His great friend, van Gogh, is the subject of a fine 1886 portrait which is in the collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Russell’s wife, Marianna – an Italian beauty who had modelled for the sculptor, Rodin – was the subject of numerous works. Her mother also sat for Russell and this intimately-scaled profile portrait depicts her father, Pasquale Mattioco – the colloquial Italian term ‘Dadone’ acknowledging his status as a senior male relative. The artist’s respect for his subject is clear and, as well as rendering the subject’s physical appearance, the portrait speaks to the wisdom and experience of a long life. With an emphasis on shades of blue, with white and grey highlights, the painting recalls Russell’s seascapes, and the image is built up in a series of energetic and assured brush strokes which reflect what Russell scholar, Ann Galbally, described as the artist’s distinctive ‘intensity of vision.’4 1. Although Russell did not see van Gogh again after he departed for Arles in the south of France in early 1888, their friendship continued via an extensive correspondence. See Galbally, A., A Remarkable Friendship: Vincent van Gogh and John Peter Russell , The Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2008 2. Taylor, E., ‘John Russell and friends: Roberts, Monet, van Gogh, Matisse, Rodin’, Australian Impressionists in France, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2013, p. 60 3. Russell to Tom Roberts, 5 October 1887 quoted in Tunnicliffe, W., (ed.), John Russell: Australia’s French Impressionist, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2018, p. 193 4. Galbally, op. cit., p. 15 KIRSTY GRANT
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Rocks, Belle Île, 1907 signed and dated lower left: 'J. P. RUSSELL. 07' oil on board 26.5 x 34.0cm (10 7/16 x 13 3/8in).
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) Belle Isle 1903 watercolour signed, titled and inscribed lower centre: J P RUSSELL TO L. T. C. / BELLE ISLE '03 30.5 x 46.5cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Sydney
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 - 1930) A BLOSSOM TREE, BELLE-ÎLE, 1887 oil on canvas 61.5 x 46.5 cm signed, dated and inscribed lower left: …'To my friend Monsieur Dufour Those friends thou hast, grapple them to thy heart with hooks of steel / Belle Ile 1887/J. P. Russell’ PROVENANCE Monsieur Dufour, France, acquired from the artist in 1887 Private collection Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 17 April 1989, lot 301 Private collection Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 19 April 1993, lot 346 Jack Manton, Queensland Thence by descent Jennifer Manton, Sydney Estate of the above, Sydney ESSAY John Russell holds a unique place in Australian art history for his close association with avant-garde circles in 1880s Paris and his firsthand acquaintance with some of the masters of European Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. As a student at Fernand Cormon’s atelier in Paris in the mid-1880s, Russell worked alongside Émile Bernard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and later, Vincent van Gogh, with whom he established an enduring friendship.1 On a summer break from Paris in 1886, Russell spent several months on Belle-Île, one of a group of small islands off the coast of Brittany. It was here that he met and befriended Claude Monet who he saw working en plein air, famously introducing himself by asking if he was indeed ‘the Prince of the Impressionists.’ Uncharacteristically, Monet allowed Russell to watch him work and on occasion, to paint alongside him, experiences that provided the young Australian artist with an extraordinary insight into the techniques and working method of one of the founders of the Impressionist movement. The influence on Russell was significant and the paintings he made in Italy and Sicily only a few months later show him working in a new style, using a high-keyed palette (from which black had been banished entirely) and his compositions made up of strokes of pure colour.2 In addition to showing him how to use colour as a means of expressing a personal response to the subject, Monet’s example also highlighted for Russell the importance of working directly from nature.3 Inherited wealth afforded Russell freedoms that others did not have and inspired by the possibilities of Belle-Île for his art and his life, he bought land overlooking the inlet of Goulphar. Writing to Tom Roberts in October 1887, he said, ‘‘Well my dear TR I’m about finished with studios & will jump out of Paris as soon as possible. The tone of things don’t suit me… I am about to build a house in France. Settle down for some five years. Get some work done. It will be in some out of the way corner as much as a desert as possible.’4 Russell lived on the island until 1909 and the subjects it offered – especially the sea and rugged coastline – encouraged what Russell scholar, Ann Galbally, described as an ‘intensity of vision’ in which experimental brushstrokes and his committed pursuit of pure colour captured the distinctive changing light and atmospheric conditions of the environment.5 Russell had a deep interest in Japanese art and this is reflected in A Blossom Tree, Belle Île, 1887 and a number of other related paintings of spring blossoms made around this time, including The Garden, Longpré-les-Corps-Saints, 1886 (private collection) and Almond Tree in Blossom, 1887 (National Gallery of Victoria). Russell had seen Japanese ceramics and bronzes in the 1879 – 80 Sydney International Exhibition, but a broader interest was stimulated by van Gogh who collected Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints (as did his brother, Theo, and Monet) – developing a collection which numbered in the hundreds – and encouraged him to do the same.6 Russell absorbed the lessons of Japanese ukiyo-e design, introducing flattened pictorial space, distortions of traditional perspective and dramatic cropping of subjects to his compositions. Almond Tree in Blossom, 1887 (National Gallery of Victoria) employs bold cropping and a close-up view of the blossom-covered branches, which are flattened in space against a solid but shimmering background of powdered bronze paint, itself a reference to the gilded backgrounds of Japanese screens.7 In this painting, the dramatic reflection of the tree trunk connects the reedy foreground, the central band of water, and the distant grassy bank – with a small cottage pictured just right of the tree – within a tightly compressed space. Prominently positioned at the front of the picture plane and filling the entire top section of the canvas, the blossoming tree and its beauty is Russell’s focus. The delicacy and transience of this seasonal flowering provides a poignant contrast to the dedication Russell inscribed to his friend Monsieur Dufour, which reads, ‘Those friends thou hast, grapple them to thy heart with hooks of steel.’ This painting has a notable provenance, having been one of several works by Russell in the Jack Manton Collection of Australian Impressionist Art. Begun in 1961, the collection aimed to ‘include the best possible example of the chosen artist’s work, capture developmental changes (if any) and show any shift of emphasis in style, period or location’.8 Many paintings from the Manton Collection were subsequently acquired for the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. 1. Although Russell did not see van Gogh again after he departed for Arles in the south of France in early 1888, their friendship continued via extensive correspondence. See Galbally, A., A Remarkable Friendship: Vincent van Gogh and John Peter Russell, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2008. 2. Taylor, E., ‘John Russell and friends: Roberts, Monet, van Gogh, Matisse, Rodin’, Australian Impressionists in France, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2013, p. 60 3. Prunster, U., ‘Painting Belle-Île’, Prunster, U., et al., Belle-Île: Monet, Russell and Matisse, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2001, p. 31 4. Russell to Tom Roberts, 5 October 1887, cited in Tunnicliffe, W., (ed.), John Russell: Australia’s French Impressionist, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2018, p. 193 5. Galbally, op cit., p. 15 6. Tunnicliffe, op. cit., p.39 7. Taylor, op. cit., p. 57 8. Manton, J., ‘Genesis’ in Australian Painters of the Heidelberg School: The Jack Manton Collection, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1979, p. 148 KIRSTY GRANT
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 - 1930) FLAME TREES, 1921 pencil and watercolour on paper 25.0 x 30.5 cm (sheet) signed and dated lower right (inverted): RUSSELL 21. bears inscription verso: J21 PROVENANCE Mr Alan Greenway, Australia and USA Thence by descent Private collection, California, USA
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Archways, Salerno II signed lower left: 'JOHN RUSSELL' chalk and gouache on paper 37.0 x 27.5cm (14 9/16 x 10 13/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 – 1930) NEW ZEALAND LANDSCAPE, c.1924 watercolour on paper 23.5 x 30.0 cm 44.0 x 51.0 cm (frame) signed with initials lower left: JR PROVENANCE John Alain Stobart Russell, Scotland, the artist’s grandson Sir Leon & Lady Trout, Queensland, by 1977 Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane Private collection, Queensland Christie’s, Melbourne, 2 – 3 May 2002, lot 85 The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Melbourne, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Masterworks from the Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 21 September – 14 December 1977, cat. 42 (label attached verso) Watercolours from the Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 4 May – 6 June 1978, cat. 77 Aspects of the Trout Collection, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1989, cat. 40 on long term loan to Newcastle Region Art Gallery, New South Wales, prior to 2006 (label attached verso) on long term loan to Gippsland Art Gallery, Victoria LITERATURE Galbally, A., The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, p. 123, cat.491 (as ‘Landscape: New Zealand’) Rainbird, S., and Bacon, P., Aspects of the Trout Collection, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1989, pl.40, p.100 (illus.) Nainby, B., Stanhope, Z., and Furlonger, K., The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, in association with Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne, 2009, pp. 50 (illus.), 231
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 – 1930) PINE TREE, BRIGHAM’S CREEK, NEW ZEALAND, c.1924 watercolour on paper 24.0 x 31.0 cm (sight) 44.0 x 50.5 cm (frame) bears certificate of authenticity attached verso, signed by the artist’s grandson PROVENANCE John Alain Stobart Russell, Scotland, the artist’s grandson Sir Leon & Lady Trout, Queensland Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane Private collection, Queensland Christie’s, Melbourne, 2 – 3 May 2002, lot 71 The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Melbourne, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Masterworks from the Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 21 September – 14 December 1977, cat. 37 (label attached verso) Watercolours from the Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 4 May – 6 June 1978, cat. 79 Aspects of the Trout Collection, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1989, cat. 42 Overland, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria, 10 March – 15 July 2012 LITERATURE Galbally, A., The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, p. 121, cat.456 (as ‘Trees, Brigham’s Creek’) Rainbird, S., and Bacon, P., Aspects of the Trout Collection, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1989, pl.42, p.100 (illus.) Nainby, B., Stanhope, Z., and Furlonger, K., The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, in association with Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne, 2009, p. 231
The Doorway oil on cardboard 40.5 x 30.5 cm (16 x 12 in.) framed dimensions: 49 x 39 cm (19 1/4 x 15 3/8 in.) CONDITION Observed in frame, the painting is in good condition. Minor surface soiling present to the center. Folding to the upper left corner. Inspection under UV light shows no sign of restoration. N.B. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 - 1930) TREES, RIVER AND MOUNTAINS, c.1886 – 87 oil on wood panel 28.5 x 22.5 cm (irregular) signed lower left: J. RUSSELL PROVENANCE Dr Guy Jouve Moncontour, Brittany, France, by 1978 Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne Private collection, Victoria, acquired from the above in April 1979 EXHIBITED John Peter Russell: Australian Impressionist, Rijksmuseum Vincent Van Gogh, Amsterdam, 10 January – 12 February 1978; University Art Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, 25 February – 19 March 1978; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 March – 6 May 1978; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 May – 26 June 1978, cat. 6 (label attached verso) Autumn Exhibition, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 5 – 20 April 1979, cat. 43 (illus. in exhibition catalogue, as ‘Trees, river with mountains in background’) LITERATURE Galbally, A., The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, cat. 42, p. 99 (as ‘Untitled (Trees, River with Mountains in Background)’)
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) View of Sydney Harbour, c.1926 pencil and gouache on grey paper 27.0 x 38.0cm (10 5/8 x 14 15/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
POSSIBLY BY JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) Boating Scene watercolour inscribed lower right: JOHN RUSSELL 22 x 49cm, frame size: 58 x 74cm PROVENANCE: The Rothschild Collection, Melbourne
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Australia, Blue boats at Belle lle, Morbihan, watercolour with white highlights, signed lower left, approx 25.5cm x 32.5cm. Label verso ex gallery
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858 – 1930) PORTRAIT OF A MAN, 1886 pencil on paper 28.0 x 14.0 cm PROVENANCE Christie's, South Kensington, United Kingdom, 30 November 1989, lot 23 (as ‘Portrait d'homme’) Private collection, New South Wales
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930), Brigham's Creek (Mount Egmont in the Background) watercolour on paper 24.5 x 30.0 cm statements of authenticity from the artist's grandson, John A.S. Russell and Joseph Brown, attached verso
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Coastal landscape signed(?) 'RUSSELL' (lower right) pencil, coloured chalks and watercolour on paper 91⁄2 x 12in. (24.1 x 30.5cm.) Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Sydney - on cliffs signed (?) and dated 'RUSSELL / /22' (lower right), titled on the reverse pencil and watercolour on paper 97⁄8 x 121⁄8in. (25.1 x 31cm.) Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Sydney Harbour signed with initials and inscribed 'ENTRANCE / OF HARBOUR) / TIN HALL(?) / SYD / JR' on the reverse pencil and watercolour on paper 93⁄4 x 121⁄4in. (24.8 x 31.1cm.) There is a study for the same subject on the reverse. Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Sunset in the woods signed and dated 'JOHN.RUSSELL. 20' (lower left) pencil, coloured chalks and watercolour on paper laid down on board 103⁄4 x 151⁄4in. (27.3 x 38.7cm.) Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Chalets in the snow, at sunset signed 'RUSSELL' (lower right) pencil and bodycolour on brown paper 10 x 121⁄2in. (25.4 x 31.8cm.) Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Alpine landscapes in winter both signed 'Russell' (the first lower right, the second lower left) pencil and watercolour on paper each 61⁄2 x 91⁄2in. (16.5 x 24.1cm.) (2) two Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) A street in Portofino oil on canvas laid down on board 18 x 151⁄4in. (45.7 x 38.7cm.) Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
John Peter Russell (1858-1930) Portofino oil on canvas laid down on board 233⁄8 x 187⁄8in. (59.4 x 48cm.) Please note this lot is the property of a private individual. Provenance By descent from the artist to the present owner.
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930) (Brigham's Creek) New Zealand 1922 gouache on brown paper signed, inscribed and dated lower left: RUSSEL/ NZ 22. 25 x 32cm PROVENANCE: Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne c.1974 The Factor Collection, Sydney Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 29 August 2010, lot 141A Private collection, Melbourne
John Peter Russell 1858 - 1930 Brittany Coast, Belle Isle, 1915 Watercolour 23 x 30 cm Provenance: Mrs Caroline Russell, Randolph Searing Merrill Jr. Florida U.S.A Collection, no. 291 (Label verso)
John Peter Russell 1858 - 1930 Coastal Views, most likely Brittany Watercolour Signed and dated 1912 lower left 19 x 24 cm Provenance: Mrs Caroline Russell, Randolph Searing Merrill Jr. Florida U.S.A Collection, no. 230 (Label verso)
JOHN RUSSELL 1858-1930 Maisons sur la Falaise (Le Chateau Anglais) (1889) oil on canvas 38.4 x 61 cm PROVENANCE John Russell Jeanne (Madam Paul Jouve), by descent from the above Monsieur Louis Jouve, by descent from the above in 1948 Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne Mr Jack Manton, Melbourne, until The Hans Heysen Collection, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 19 June 1970, lot 133, ''Houses on the Cliff, 1906'', illustrated Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above EXHIBITED John Peter Russell 1858-1930: Australian Impressionist, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 22 August - 11 September 1968, no. 13, ''circa 1906'' John Peter Russell: Australian Impressionist, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, 10 January - 12 February 1978, University Art Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, 25 February - 19 March 1978, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 March - 6 May 1978, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 May - 26 June 1978, no. 23, ''Maison sur la falaise'' (label verso) Masterpieces of Australian Impressionism, Bonhams & Goodman, Melbourne, 24-26 July 2009, no. 11 LITERATURE Ann Galbally, The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, cat. 73, ''Maisons sur la falaise'', p. 101
RUSSELL, John Peter (1858-1930) 'Orta, Novarese, Italy,' 1910. Inscribed upper left with title, & 'John Peter Russell Fecit Sept 10 1910.' W/Clr 29x21cm
JOHN PETER RUSSELL (1858-1930), Still Life Interior Scene , watercolour on paper, 36.0 x 51.5 cm, signed lower right: JOHN. RUSSELL, Sotheby's, Melbourne, 1987 Private collection, Melbourne
