#s_t_gill — Public Fediverse posts

AI spam email re: my #S_T_Gill original research. Falls well short of super intelligence! A web search suggests Maya Lambert is a jack of all trades.

Subject: colonial art career

Your site on Samuel Thomas Gill's colonial career and 1840s Adelaide maps caught my eye ... That kind of material usually carries captions and inscriptions in older lettering.

I'm Maya Lambert at Signa Translations. I work on Latin, Greek and historical English documents, mostly handwritten records and engraved text that has faded or gone cryptic over time.

If any of Gill's captions or the Adelaide map labels are still unclear to you, I can turn two or three of them into plain English meaning, so the site reads smoothly for family history visitors.

I made a personal research database of art works and historical events as part of my #S_T_Gill project. It allows for testing of theories and conclusions. It also generates (html) material for the project webpages and content for the digital maps.

The database evolved over years and was more about making progress than good design. I wasn't happy with it. So this year I've been redeveloping it from scratch with a view that it could be used again, by me or some other researcher.

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/about.htm#Approach

#catalogueRaisonne #historicalMapping #digitalHumanities

A Supreme Court judge called him "eccentric, a miser, violent in temper, unsocial, selfish, self-centred, and harsh and arbitrary in the treatment of his wife and children". The hostile relationship between him and his artist son makes a plausible explanation for a fake painting - the son copying the father's large #S_T_Gill watercolour while the father was away overseas. #Adelaide 1898

My article update: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Subject_Sturt's_Departure_1844.htm#1899Fake

Art and History.

What makes this picture so popular? Thomas Kenneally's publishers even used it for a book cover though the event isn't mentioned in it.

King William St and Grenfell St, #Adelaide. #historyAU #S_T_Gill

My article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Subject_Sturt's_Departure_1844.htm

A new index for my #S_T_Gill project cross-references my catalogue with those of earlier authorities: Appleyard (1986) and Bowden (1971).

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Index_Appleyard_and_Bowden.htm

Is the 1852 lithograph "Diggers shiping from Melbourne" historically accurate? (Yes, "shiping"!) Four vessels are named on the office posters - were they all in port at the same time? The answer suggests the famed artist was sketching the goldrush diggers in Melbourne before he was sketching them at the diggings. #historyAU #S_T_Gill #TroveAU #artAU

In writing the historical narrative online I initially couldn't refer to the as yet unwritten the artwork evidence. The latter done, I've now back-filled. (New material; older research.)

New material: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_1852_to_Victoria_and_Diggings.htm#GillGap

In 1845, a 3 day stopover in Sydney for artist George French Angas, was serendipitous for a new newspaper in need of a masthead. A weird research find this week in #S_T_Gill project.
New paragraph (yes, that's all): https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_George_French_Angas_1844_1845.htm#1845January

This is a bit of an art puzzle.

The Chair and The Vice are a pair of satirical prints showing a meeting chairman and his vice-chairman. Food and carafes of wine are involved. The "vice" looks the worse for wear. #S_T_Gill #lithography #19thCentury #artHistory

My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_The_Chair_and_The_Vice.htm

I've added to my map of Horrocks 1846 expedition (Flinders Ranges, Clare Valley) with a secondary map layer of #S_T_Gill's retrospectives. The primary layer mostly contains 33 watercolours finished just after the expedition. I used the secondary layer for research but now make it public. Follow any of the map links in this article to take you to the map. #SouthAustralia #uMap #historicalMapping

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_Horrocks_Retrospectives.htm

1840s Governor Grey in the news eh? I found Grey portrayed in "Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844". It's possibly the most used artwork illustrating #SouthAustralia history texts. But the Grey detail had escaped memory, the picture only returning to the public collection in 1939. #S_T_Gill
https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Subject_Sturt's_Departure_1844.htm#19

Today is Samuel Thomas Gill's birthday - he'd be 208. I've described him as "arguably Australia's most recognisable colonial artist", not as much by name, as by the extent of works used for historical illustration.

Once more commonly called "the artist of the goldfields", here's a sample of 24 sketches (tinged with gentle humour) from 1852 - that earnt him that nickname - in my recent article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_1852_Diggings_and_Diggers_Part_1.htm

#S_T_Gill #lithography #historyAU

Happy about this. I had an overnight enquiry from an academic in Dublin with an interest in the "literary cultures of nineteenth-century copper mining". She was particularly interested in the interaction between Indigenous and settler children shown in an #S_T_Gill picture that was reproduced in 1848 in the Illustrated London News.

It pleases me that my project can be useful to other researchers. Plus the enquiry helps me refocus on that content and in a couple of weeks I'll improve on my old page on the #Burra mine. #historyAU

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_Burra_Burra_Mine_1847.htm#GrahamEngland

RE: https://mastodon.social/@publicdomainrev/116572766423875447

I've been long puzzled by #S_T_Gill's sketches of theatrical costumes and scenes from Shakespeare. Were these designs for a theatre company?
But having just seen PDR's post (quoted below) I see it's possible Gill was (again) (at least in part) inspired by Cruikshank on a theme. Link to Gill's "Hamlet and the Ghost" in #StateLibraryNSW. https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/1cvjue2/ADLIB110349983
#19thCentury #artHistory

#StateLibraryNSW has an extended outage affecting the new catalogue, which is used by my #S_T_Gill project. However you can still use the old catalogue where you can search by work title or call number.

https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/news/accessing-library-services-during-online-service-disruption

Edit: services restored.

My website and email are temporarily down. Hopefully back in a few hours. My site is snapshot by #TroveAU but the latest seems to be more than a year old. Something for me to think about. (Main impact on #S_T_Gill project.)

@timritchie Colonial artist #S_T_Gill pictured work underway at the Argyle Cut (probably 1850s). He was in Sydney and NSW from 1856 to 1863. #historySydney

From Mitchell Library, #StateLibraryNSW https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1JkmDm5Y/ywy22rggL4d6E

#S_T_Gill project bug fix (links to maps). Artworks with ampersand in the title were not linking to #uMap (object name). Replaced ampersand with "and" in webpage html and in uMap content.
Fixed example on 1840s #Adelaide map, "Capt. Frome's & Engineer Barracks": https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill's_Series_of_Adelaide_Views.htm#47

The artist's many signatures.
Applying fresh analysis to a 40-year-old 4-page appendix. New article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Signatures_and_Dating.htm
#S_T_Gill #catalogueRaisonne #artHistoryAU

New find: it appears George French Angas trimmed the left edges of two paintings to remove S T Gill's signature for his 1846 London exhibition. Paintings considered to be Angas's best, evidence shows, are actually by Gill. In this new overview I examine Gill's work for and relationship with Angas, 1844 to 1852. Gill as ghost artist. Much praise bestowed on Angas has rightly belonged to #S_T_Gill. #colonialArt #historyAU #artHistoryAU #ozGLAM #catalogueRaisonne

My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_artist_for_George_French_Angas.htm

Googled Glendoc and AI tells me it might be a misreading of Lynedoch. And there's it's only source - my webpage - right and below. I chuckled. I'd forgotten I'd already written that. (Yes, a search result would have been sufficient.) #S_T_Gill project

I did say my #S_T_Gill project would "further rock the art history boat, not by intent, but because that's where the evidence takes us". So here's the extra rock ...

Big claims need big evidence. My new article adds to the pile, showing despite his claim to his London publisher, George French Angas likely didn't go to the Victorian diggings in 1852 at all.

Pivotal to this story is Charles Lord for whom Angas had great affection. A quick trip to Melbourne by the pair landed Angas in the middle of gold rush lithography.

NARRATIVE, ANALYSIS & CATALOGUE. (Not light reading. Analysis only made possible by digitised newspapers.) #historyAU #artHistoryAU #TroveAU #ozGLAM

My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/George_French_Angas_Victorian_Diggings_1852.htm

(3/3) Read about #historicalMapping in the #S_T_Gill project (with extra 1840s #SouthAustralia maps) and how I developed them: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_in_Maps.htm

(2/3) Map of #S_T_Gill's 1852 scenes of the gold diggings in Victoria, Australia - at least the readily mappable ones. Built in OpenStreetMap's #uMap with #AllMaps tiles for custom background. #historicalMapping #historyAU
Online map: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/s-t-gill-victorian-diggings_1079116

(3/3) Read about #historicalMapping in the #S_T_Gill project (with extra 1840s #SouthAustralia maps) and how I developed them: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_in_Maps.htm

(2/3) Map of #S_T_Gill's 1852 scenes of the gold diggings in Victoria, Australia - at least the readily mappable ones. Built in OpenStreetMap's #uMap with #AllMaps tiles for custom background. #historicalMapping #historyAU
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/s-t-gill-victorian-diggings_1079116

Sasha Grishin described it as "an iconic image for the Australian gold rushes". "Diggers on way to Bendigo" was a frequent subject of S T Gill's picturing gold diggers on the road. Sometimes thought to show leaving #Melbourne for the goldfields. But it most likely represents diggers moving on from one diggings (Forest Creek, near #Castlemaine) to better prospects at another (#Bendigo). #historyAU #colonialArtAU

My new article on #S_T_Gill pictures (7) on this subject from 1852 to 1872: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Subject_Diggers_on_way.htm

Anachronisms are often the downfall for a fake painting.

This week I came across evidence that the object pictured in an "1845" painting was only made in 1854. #S_T_Gill #Adelaide #artHistoryAU

New paragraph for article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Scott_Fakes_and_Adelaide_Signatures.htm#1936SkipperSignboard

Years ago I started with just this scrap piece of paper and sketched these main #Adelaide intersections in the 1840s.
This evolved into digital #historicalMapping using #uMap (which makes all the work look easy) and #mapWarper. I've now geolocated 257 works with latitude, longitude and view bearing.
I recently added the Victorian diggings 1852 to the maps.

Search the list of mapped works: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/index_of_works.htm#Mapped
Read about the maps in the #S_T_Gill project and how I developed them: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_in_Maps.htm
#historyAU #digitalHumanities

In 1851 George French Angas went from Sydney to the NSW gold diggings via the Blue Mountains. This map shows his sketches along the way and corrects the dating on these drawings in #NationalLibraryAU collection. (This map was a side activity in the #S_T_Gill project.) #historyAU #historyNSW #historicalMapping

Online map: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/angas-1851-nsw-diggings_802983

Bryce Ross kept the artist's name secret. Who was it sketching the gold diggings and looking to publish in #Melbourne or elsewhere?

Ross was an institution on the Victorian diggings in 1852. He reported weekly for the Melbourne Herald and his "Mems from the Mount [Alexander]" were reprinted in colonial newspapers. His office was at what is now Chewton near #Castlemaine. Ross was one of thousands of #SouthAustralia'ns on the diggings.

And why can't we find the artist's original field sketches?

#historyAU #TroveAU #1850s #S_T_Gill #Bendigo

My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_1852_at_the_Victorian_Diggings.htm

#Coffee and breakfast sorted!

6 miles from the Bush Inn on the road from #Melbourne to the diggings (1852): https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/s-t-gill-melbourne-to-the-diggings_800099?feature=Coffee%20Tent%206%20m%20from%20Bush%20Inn,%20Diggers%20Breakfast%20|%20SLV%20H7824#11/-37.557/144.654

#historicalMapping #uMap #TroveAU #1850s #S_T_Gill

S. T. Gill is arguably Australia's most recognisable colonial artist. The story of Gill's 1852 passage from #SouthAustralia to the #Victoria goldfields has been a confused one. But it can now be teased out with help of digitised newspapers and a database approach. Who he went with adds to a sense of story.

My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_1852_to_Victoria_and_Diggings.htm

#TroveAU #1850s #S_T_Gill

Update on my #S_T_Gill project: scope completed. More posts to follow.

#StateLibraryNSW has a surprisingly large number of South Australian colonial artworks. I've finished updating SLNSW links to their new catalogue from my #S_T_Gill project. This includes my maps of 1840s #SouthAustralia and #Adelaide which are now practically complete. Mapping using #uMap (OpenStreetMap).

#historyAU #historicalMapping #digitalHumanities

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_in_Maps.htm

#StateLibraryNSW has done a wonderful job with a *gradual* transition over several years from old catalogue to new catalogue. This has allowed users plenty of time to adjust.

Recently the old catalogue image links stopped working. As my digital project includes a mix of old and new catalogue references, I need to catch up! I have about 110 to update in the next few days.

#S_T_Gill project

1843 was a turning point for #SouthAustralia shifting from a rural economy to the start of a mining economy. This spurred the visit by artist George French Angas.

This the third of my new articles this week in the #S_T_Gill #colonialArt project. #1840s

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Narrative_1843_to_1844.htm

This is one of the earliest street scenes in #Adelaide - from 1840. It's in Hindley St where the Grand Chancellor is now. (From #StateLibraryNSW collection.)

These are among the early #SouthAustralia works by #S_T_Gill. This new article accompanies the early narrative I've just added to the project. #1840s #colonialArtAU #catalogueRaisonne

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Works_1839_to_1844.htm

S. T. Gill is arguably Australia's most recognisable colonial artist. He was in #SouthAustralia from 1839 to 1851. With two new narrative articles and a new catalogue article, I've now mostly finished my many years work on this period. The narratives are a particularly fresh look at the artist within an economic context. A different and online approach to #catalogueRaisonne. #artHistory #S_T_Gill #1840s

My new article (narrative starting point): https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Early_Narrative_1839_to_1842.htm

My #artHistory project already links catalogue entries to map locations where known. But it was only zooming in to location and pin. I've now incorporated #uMap permalinks to also popup the artwork information panel. I also do this for the address of the artist's studios. #historicalMapping #S_T_Gill

For example, see: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_1847.htm which has studio location and location of "Floraville" view.

Realised these are probably prefabricated Manning's houses, c. 1841-42, corner Grenfell St & Gawler Pl, #Adelaide. #1840s #prefab #S_T_Gill #historyAU #prefabs

Repost this time with more direct link to artwork: https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134360971/view

Today I realised these are probably prefabricated Manning's houses, c. 1841-42, corner Grenfell St & Gawler Pl, #Adelaide.

#1840s #Adelaide #prefab #S_T_Gill #historyAU

https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_John_Napier_Magill.htm#76

Analysis reveals two long-accepted colonial art works as clever fakes.

Several "Gill" watercolours surfaced in the 1890s with connections to amateur artist Margaret Scott and daughter journalist Winnifred "Magpie" Scott. Two were fake: Adelaide Racecourse and Dry Creek hunt.
#S_T_Gill #Adelaide #artHistoryAU #colonialArtAU

My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Scott_Fakes_and_Adelaide_Signatures.htm

H. C. Jervis made engravings in #Adelaide of landmark buildings in 1841-1842. Queen's Theatre (modified) still stands today.

Initials "C.W.C" on the prints became a 50 year art history red herring. They're likely based on originals by #S_T_Gill. There are links too with the 1842 Kingston map. #artHistoryAU

View in new catalogue page: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/H_C_Jervis_Engravings_1841_1842.htm

#S_T_Gill only occasionally portrayed drunks, and this may be the earliest extant such picture: the Annual Agricultural Show in 1846. Five hotel booth signs are in the scene including the Wheatsheaf #Adelaide!

#AGSAAdelaide recently made their digitised image available in the public catalogue, so now I also can display it. #artHistoryAU @arthistory

View: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_1845_1846.htm#243

Today's new #S_T_Gill project web page is a list of articles (web pages), to give quick, easy access to content.
https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/list_of_articles.htm

And now my modern project returns to the quote that's stuck in my head for the last 9 years. With a new article! #historyAU #artHistoryAU #colonialArtAU #S_T_Gill #Barossa #SouthAustralia #Angas

S.T. Gill at Angas' Barossa 1844

S. T. Gill was in the #Barossa sketching for the Angas family from 29 October to 4 November 1844. I identify some works as well as influences on Angas publications: "South Australia Illustrated" and "Barossa Range and its neighbourhood".

New article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_at_Angas'_Barossa_1844.htm 3/3

“Out with Mr. Gill the artist who has come from town to take some sketches...”

This was the hook for my project - the hurdle that the "Convict Gill" theory couldn't jump. A historical controversy in the newspapers 9 years ago! #historyAU #artHistoryAU #colonialArtAU #S_T_Gill

From my naive self 9 years ago: https://coombe.id.au/stg/01_controversy.htm 2/3

A historical controversy grabbed my attention 9 years ago. #historyAU #artHistoryAU #colonialArtAU #S_T_Gill

May be free or paywall: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/academic-claims-artist-st-gill-was-a-convict-20160704-gpy9ko.html

At first I was attracted to the convict Gill theory. But soon found a hurdle in the said timeline... 1/3

@RenewEconomyRSSFeed Last month I visited Port Augusta (this post's photo) and was amazed at the amount of wind power there. In the background right you can see where Horrocks Pass is in the Flinders Range there. (Alas, all my ground level photos make the turbines look tiny!) (#S_T_Gill)