von Guerard, Eugene (1811-1901)

Von Guerard was born in Vienna. In 1852, the trained artist was lured by the goldrush and set sail for Victoria. However, he was not successful on the goldfields.

During the 30 years he spent in Australia, von Guerard received numerous commissions from wealthy patrons for painting their homesteads. While this earned him an income, his real love was for sketching and painting the wilds of Australia. It is these landscapes for which he is best known.

In 1870, he was appointed first master of painting of the school of art at the new National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. His work was purchased and exhibited by the National Gallery of Victoria, the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, and both the Royal Academy and the International Exhibition in London.

Returning to Europe in1881, he spent his last years in poverty.

Source: Extracted from: Wrigley, J.W. (2013) Eucalypt Flowers, National Library of Australia, Canberra.
Photo: From State Library of Victoria, via TROVE, Image IAN27/07/67/13