[Trompe l'oeil of various items of the personal and social life of John Elder and his family], 1887-...
[Trompe l'oeil of various items of the personal and social life of John Elder and his family], 1887-1888 / watercolour by John Elder
About this item
Full title
Author / Creator
Date
1887-1888
Call Numbers
XV/197
Record Identifier
Reference Code
Physical Description
Contents
1 drawing - 78 x 135 cm. - pencil, ink and watercolour on wove paper
Other Descriptions
Level of description
Fonds
Access and use
Copying Conditions
Out of copyright : Creator died before 1955
Please acknowledge : Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
Physical Access Conditions
Access to this pictures collection via appointment only. Please submit your request through Ask a Librarian
Subjects
More information
Scope and Contents
Contents
This trompe l’oeil watercolour is an expression of the social and personal life of John Elder, a middle class draughtsman living in 19th century Sydney. Constructed for use as a table in the European artistic tradition of quodlibet, each painted item within the overall painting is of particular significance to the artist. Viewed as a whole, the ind...
Alternative Titles
Full title
[Trompe l'oeil of various items of the personal and social life of John Elder and his family], 1887-1888 / watercolour by John Elder
Authors, Artists and Contributors
Author / Creator
Notes
General note
Trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye) is a painting technique with origins in Ancient Rome and Greece used to depict three dimensional images on a flat surface. The works usually displayed everyday household and personal items (playing cards, ribbons, scissors, buttons) depicted as being casually left around.
Colonial trompe l’oeil works in Austr...
Signature / Inscriptions
Signed and dated on lower left by John Elder. "JE 1887-1888, Sydney N.S.W."
Contextual Information
Source
Purchased from Day Fine Art, March 2018
Collection history
Elder family; Bill Bradshaw, Sydney; Ruth Simon; Trevor Kennedy purchase from Simon in 2005; Day Fine Art purchase from Kennedy in 2017.
Administrative / Biographical history
John Elder (1847-1924) was born in London on 9 Feb 1847. The Elder family arrived in NSW on the Rose of Sharon on 13 April 1855. John married Annie Elizabeth Boshier (1854-1938) in Sydney, NSW and they had 8 children. He worked as a draftsman in Paddington and lived in Mosman in the mid to late 1880s. He died 8 September 1924 at his family home ‘El...
Identifiers
Primary Identifiers
Call Numbers
XV/197
Record Identifier
nQReqRV1
Permalink
https://devfeature-collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/nQReqRV1
Other Identifiers
Reference code
9594117
How to access this item
For use in the Library
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