CONDER, Charles

Charles Conder was born in London in 1868 and as a child spent time in India. Following the death of his mother in 1873 he returned to England where he completed his schooling.

Charles Conder arrived in Australia in 1884, began art classes at the Royal Art Society in Sydney and met Tom Roberts and Giralamo Nerli. By 1888 he had moved to Melbourne and joined the Box Hill Camp with the Heidelberg School artists Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin and attended evening classes at the National Gallery School under McCubbin. Together the group spent 2 memorable and enjoyable summers painting at their camp at Eaglemont, near Heidelberg, Victoria.

In 1890 he returned to Europe where he set up his Paris studio, becoming a part of the bohemian art world. In December 1891 he travelled to Mustapha near Algeries to recuperate from illness in a friend’s garden villa overlooking the sea.

He was inspired to paint the gardens and views of Mustapha overlooking terraces and the Bay of Algiers. His Algerian pictures inaugurated a new sensitivity to symbolist colour and mood in his art. Later, Conder would suggest harem themes in some of his imagery and titles of his decorative paintings on silk panels.

His style was delicate, witty and nostalgic, often combining these attributes with evocations of warm summer light.

Showing all 6 results

Showing all 6 results