Ashton Julian (Rossi)
(b Alderstone, England, 27 Jan 1851; d Bondi, Sydney, 27 April
1942).
Australian painter and writer. He attended the West London School of
Art and, following the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, the
Académie Julian in Paris. In 1878 the newspaper owner David Syme
invited Ashton to Melbourne to produce black-and-white illustrations
for the Illustrated Australian News. After a disagreement with the
management he transferred to the rival Australasian Sketcher. In
1883 he went to Sydney, where he joined the staff of the Picturesque
Atlas of Australia and also contributed to the Sydney Bulletin.
Ashton was an ardent disciple of Impressionist painting and claimed
to have executed the first plein-air landscape in Australia:
Evening, Merri Creek (1882; Sydney, A.G. NSW). Much of his work, as
in the watercolour A Solitary Ramble (1888; Sydney, A.G. NSW), had a
strong sentimental streak. In addition to his outdoor works Ashton
painted a number of portraits, such as that of Helen Ashton (c.
1890; Canberra, N.G.). After teaching at the Art Society of New
South Wales School from 1892 to 1896, he founded the Sydney Art
School in 1896 (since 1975: Sydney College of the Arts). It became a
centre of activity for aspiring young Australian artists and among
its alumni were George W. Lambert, Sydney Long, William Dobell and
John Passmore. In Sydney, Ashton attracted a circle of
artist-disciples that included Charles Conder, Alfred James Daplyn
(1844–1926) and Albert Henry Fullwood (1863–1930), and he often
worked with them in the scenic Hawkesbury River area. He continued
to produce Impressionist-style portraits and landscapes throughout
his life and influenced ideas of national patronage for Australian
art. He encouraged government purchases and in 1913 lobbied for the
foundation of the Education Department Gallery in Sydney.
