Theme The Big Picture
‘You know how proud I am to have put my little bit to Australian history.’
Roberts to Alfred Deakin, 1903
On 29 May 1901 – three weeks after the momentous event – Roberts accepted a commission to paint The opening of the first parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, 9th May 1901.
Roberts was moved by the historic event, and found the shaft of sunlight that came down from the central dome of the exhibition building and spread across the assembled crowd to the royal couple on the dais, to be emblematic. From that experience he made a lively oil sketch in which he captured this fleeting effect of light.
The choice of Roberts flowed from his reputation as a portrait painter. The commissioners (a consortium of private benefactors named the Australian Art Association Pty Ltd) had high expectations of him: they asked for ‘correct representations’ of the Duke and Duchess of York, the Governor-General, the state governors, members of the Federal Parliament and ‘other distinguished guests to the number of not less than 250’.
With the completion of such a large and significant commission, it is surprising that Roberts was never offered a knighthood. When a friend questioned him about this, however, he replied, ‘Oh it doesn’t matter about me, look what a splendid position has been given to my work’.
‘Friends pity me but they needn’t. I know what a chance there is to produce something & am going for it for all it’s worth. … a document? – yes? & something more. The Royalty & and its suite of Governors of states and – the members, democracy – with the people – that’s the Empire and this all meets under one roof. And that’s what I’m painting.’
Roberts to S.W. Pring, c 1903
Roberts made individual portraits – some in pencil and some in oil – of all the main figures that he included in the painting. He made a visit to Sydney to produce sketches of the prime minister and the Duke and Duchess.
Keeping in mind that the figures he was drawing or painting individually were to form part of a group, he made careful notes of the weight, height and age of the sitters, their country of origin, and particulars such as hat size. He noted down his impression of their character, often with much humour. As a result, the painting provides an extraordinary panorama of Australian politicians and society.
Working in a room in the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Roberts extrapolated his small oil composition to a large canvas, by the traditional means of squaring up. He then placed his many portraits into the outline, attempting to remain faithful to the sitter, but also trying to place them in relation to the whole. He had to rely on photographs of the event to be sure where everyone was standing. Most of the delegates at the ceremony wore black in observance of a period of mourning after the recent death of Queen Victoria. To balance this Roberts gave some emphasis to the choir, who were dressed in white. In all, the picture included more that 260 separate portraits. The wet, incomplete canvas was shipped to London in March 1903, where Roberts continued to work on it in the South African Room of the Imperial Institute. He finished it on 16 November 1903.
