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Russell Museum

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Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Russell Museum
Phone:
+64 9-403 7701

Hours:
Sunday10am - 4pm
Monday10am - 4pm
Tuesday10am - 4pm
Wednesday10am - 4pm
Thursday10am - 4pm
Friday10am - 4pm
Saturday10am - 4pm


John Peter Russell was an Australian impressionist painter. Born and raised in Sydney, Russell moved to Europe in his late teenage years to attend art school. A tall and athletic man's man, popular with other students, Russell befriended fellow pupil Vincent Van Gogh. The pair went on a painting trip to Belgium, and in 1886, Russell created the first oil portrait of the future world-famous artist, now held at the Van Gogh Museum. That same year, Russell painted with Claude Monet at Belle Île. Russell moved there soon after with his wife, Marianna Russell, one of sculptor Auguste Rodin's favourite models. Henri Matisse visited Russell at Belle Île in the 1890s, and later credited the Australian with introducing him to impressionist techniques and colour theory. Despite painting prolifically and maintaining close ties with the European avant-garde, Russell rarely exhibited his works and showed no interest in making a living from art. After his wife died in 1907, Russell, grief-stricken, destroyed hundreds of his paintings. He returned to Sydney in old age, where he died in relative obscurity. His niece, Australian artist Thea Proctor, did much to posthumously promote Russell's art, and by the late 20th-century, a number of biographies and exhibitions had helped restore his reputation as a significant artist. Today his works are held in major galleries in his home country and in Europe, including the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Rodin in Paris.While in Europe, Russell maintained correspondence with Tom Roberts, leader of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Russell updated the Australians on developments in French impressionism, and because he spent much of his career in Europe, he has been called Australia's lost impressionist.
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