A0459
Title: A comparison of the career profiles of Australian Impressionist artists
Authors: Bronwyn Coate - RMIT University (Australia) [presenting]
Douglas Hodgson - UQAM (Canada)
Abstract: The existence of artistic movements in which small groupings of artists share aesthetic or programmatic similarities and utilise group association to further their collective programme and individual careers and creative trajectories is well established. Yet, despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of artistic movements in the context of understanding the canon of art, the contributions of individual artists in first forming artistic movements are less explored. Regression modelling and archival methods are used to examine the careers of artists associated with the Australian Impressionist art movement. Of key interest is the aim to understand how artists' centrality to the formation of the Australian Impressionist movement impacts their career trajectories. To measure artists' centrality within the formation of the movement, evidence is drawn upon from the catalogue for the 9 x 5 exhibition held in Melbourne in 1889, which, despite the sharp criticism it received at the time, is associated with the start of Impressionism in Australia. The analysis also draws on data about artists' representation in the collections of major public galleries across Australia to provide further evidence on artist reputation.
