John Peter Russell

The artist, by descent to his daughter (Mme. Jouve)
Louis Jouve (inscribed on label on reverse); thence by descent to his daughter
Madame Gueye
Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne
Fine Australian, Aboriginal and International Paintings, Sotheby's, Melbourne, 22 - 23 November 1999, lot 7
Purchased from the above

John Peter Russell, Australian Impressionist, Wildenstein, London, July - August 1965, cat. 24 (lent by M. Louis Jouve) (bears gallery label on reverse)
Autumn Exhibition 1974: Recent Acquisitons, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 18 March - 1 April 1974, cat. 23 (illus.)

'The Art of John Peter Russell', Australian Women's Weekly, 3 May 1967, p. 31 (illus.)
Ann Galbally, The Art of John Peter Russell, Melbourne: Sun Books, 1977, cat. 169, fig. 33 (illus.)

There are fine vertical stable cracks across much of the surface of the work. There is scattered fly-spotting and the work would benefit from a light clean. There is a slight bowing across the canvas. This work is in good stable condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The 'fisherman on the cliff' described in the title of this large and important Belle-Ile canvas is presumably Hippolyte Guillaumin, a Breton fisherman who figures in a number of paintings by both Russell and Claude Monet.

John Russell first met Monet in September 1886 when both artists were visiting Belle-Ile, a remote island off the coast of Brittany.  Monet - 'the prince of Impressionists', as Russell put it - assumed that the young Australian was American; but he found Russell 'trés aimable' and dined with him in preference to the 'abominable' meals at his inn.  The two worked side by side on occasion on the rocky Atlantic shore and it seems likely that seeing Monet's Belle-Ile series, exhibited in Paris the following year, was a factor in Russell's decision to settle on the island in 1888.  He would remain there for twenty years - the happiest, both personally and professionally, of his life.

It is said that Russell first introduced Guillaumin - 'le Pére Poly' - to Monet, who employed the wiry old character as his porter.¹  He also worked for Russell as a gardener.  Monet's head-and-shoulders portrait Le Pére Poly, pecheur de Belle-Ile is now in the Musée Marmottan, Paris; while Russell's Mon ami Polite, circa 1900 is in the Art Gallery of New South Wales.  In the words of Ann Galbally, 'for Russell, Poly became the prototype of the fisherman, the symbol of all fishermen and their intimate relationships with their surroundings.'²

Here, in Pecheur sur falaise, the figure stands on clifftops which were carpeted with heather and gorse in spring.  (The Russells generally spent eight months of the year at their 'Château Anglais' on Belle-Ile.)  Despite the wind it is sunny and the colours are warm and bright, applied in broad impressionist brushstrokes.  Russell once wrote to Tom Roberts about mixing his own pigments and experimenting with colour, 'Simple colour but strong keep pure as long as possible.'  Indeed he was the only Australian artist to have first-hand contact with any of the original French impressionists.  Unfortunately Russell's contemporary reputation suffered because of his modesty and reluctance to sell his paintings (he had independent means and therefore had no need to do so).  But his friend Rodin was undoubtedly prophetic when he wrote, 'Your works will live, I am certain.  One day you will be placed on the same level with our friends Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh.'³

1.  E. Salter, The Lost Impressionist: a biography of John Peter Russell, London: Angus & Robertson, 1976, p. 90
2.  Ann Galbally, The Art of John Peter Russell, Melbourne: Sun Books, 1977, p. 58
3.  Quoted in Australian Women's Weekly, 3 May 1967, p. 30