E Phillips Fox

E Phillips Fox
Australian 1865–1915

The stile c. 1897–1900
oil on canvas
Geelong Gallery
Gift of Mr and Mrs AJ Halfpenny in memory of Mr and Mrs David H Fox, 1979

Departing France in 1892, Emmanuel Phillips Fox returned to Melbourne with a desire to teach the new painting methods he had witnessed in Europe to his local artistic cohort. With fellow plein air painter Tudor St George Tucker, he established Australia’s first summer art school at Charterisville—a property in Ivanhoe, Melbourne, whose grounds inspired some of the most important works associated with the Australian Impressionist movement.

Here, Fox has captured a small section of Charterisville’s extensive and unkempt garden in a close crop and refreshingly informal spirit. The scene’s striking greenery is offset by hints of purple sky and pale blue water, with Fox’s textural brushwork amplifying his bold and tonally rich use of colour.