The party that rocked a nation

Tom Roberts loved a party and he put his heart and soul into the 9 by 5 Impressions exhibition which would go on to become a celebrated event in Australian art history.

He decorated the rooms in soft Liberty silk, Japanese umbrellas, blue and green vases filled with japonica and roses, violets and jonquils, the air was sweet with the perfume of daphne.

It helped that Tom dressed as an artist, wearing a flower in his buttonhole and donning a red-satin-lined opera cape and top hat. He learnt in London the importance of self-promotion and the cultivation of society, it’s no surprise then he was the driving force behind the 9 by 5 exhibition.

Opening on 17 August 1889, the exhibition was thronged by members of Melbourne’s intellectual and social circles, taking afternoon tea in dainty cups and engaged with singing by Fanny Bristow.

Many of the 182 pictures were painted the size of cigar box lids, 9 x 5 inches. The majority were by Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder as well as some by Frederick McCubbin. Priced well, they streamed out the door.

The show established the artists’ reputations as innovators and created their identity as a group of Australian Impressionists.

From the outset it was a commercial venture, they needed to sell paintings. What began as a light-hearted venture, turned into a pivotal moment in the history of Australian art.

Tom would go on to be recognised as a towering personality of the age. As art critic John McDonald said, “one cannot overestimate the role that Roberts played in changing the way art was made and perceived in Melbourne in those days.”