david coombe history
SUMMARY: Several "Gill" watercolours surfaced in the 1890s with connections to amateur artist Margaret Cochrane Scott nee Little and daughter journalist Winnifred "Magpie" Scott. Two were fake. These and others had the uncommon "STG Adelaide" signatures.
Article type: ANALYSIS
In this article ...
NOTE: Emphases (bold) in newspaper quotations are mine.
Main characters (in rough order of mention):
It was odd. Adelaide newspapers reported five Gill watercolours turn up, in 1892, 1895 and 1899. All bore an otherwise rare signature – "STG Adelaide '45". Also odd, why is the focus on the drunks at the races when Gill was not really portraying them at the time? Uncovering an unknown Gill behind another framed picture? – a convenient explanation for its fresh look? Who were the revealers Mrs D. W. Scott of Norton Summit and Miss Little of Woodville? Most importantly, how did they fit in to Gill's work in 1845?
The conclusions are more complex than I expected. There are two fakes. There are also original works with "signatures" in hand other than Gill's.
I concluded that two watercolours – previously accepted as by Gill in Appleyard (1986, numbers 72, 73) – are fakes. Not just artist copies, but fakes intended to deceive. They are part of the University of Adelaide (UA) art collection and were part of a 1942 bequest. Signed "STG Adelaide '45", they are:
They are associated with three genuine Gill watercolours that have had "signatures" added later: "STG Adelaide '45" or "STG 1846". We'll see how they're further connected.
This is a long and complex article. To improve readability, I include links to relevant artworks progressively through the article. (They are also at "List of Works" at the end of this article.)
Central to this article is that in September 1895, Mrs. D. W. Scott, of Norton's Summit, revealed three pictures owned by her, said to be Gill originals and all dated 1845. We can link the 1895 reports with currently known works. Their descriptions make it clear the subjects are:
Gill signed some works and left others unsigned. Appleyard devoted a helpful analytical appendix to the subject of Gill's signatures. In studying these works we need to consider the possibility that the signature was added later, for whatever reason, by someone other than the artist.
To demonstrate a fake, one needs to show an artwork is posing as a genuine work by an artist, when in fact it has been painted by another. This article does that and presents an hypothesis to explain the unusual signature and the passing of the fakes.
The thesis of this article is that the two UA pictures are fakes and several "STG Adelaide" signatures are not original.
To make this argument I:
Note: Text in this style indicates significant conclusions throughout the article.
Let's consider two genuine watercolours by S.T. Gill known as Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844, or simply Sturt's Departure. They are in the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA). Let's focus on the signatures.
The first, AGSA 0.1128, I'll refer to as Sturt's Departure (panorama).
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | AGSA 0.1128
This large panorama was acquired by AGSA in 1939. Gill misspelled when he signed this "STG ADELADE". The signature is diagonal, capital letters, and has serifs characteristic of his signature at the time. To see the signature, follow the above link to the AGSA catalogue and zoom in to the lower left.
The second, AGSA 0.1522, is smaller and has been thought to be a study for the large panorama. I'll refer to it as Sturt's Departure (study).
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | AGSA 0.1522
At the time of writing this work was not yet available online in the AGSA public catalogue.
Author photo: hanging in exhibition at NLA in 2016.
Appleyard's appendix shows the study's signature.
Appleyard (p. 110) reproduction of the signature. (Click for larger.)
Note the "STG" is in heavier writing, "Adelaide / 45" is lighter and the two parts are in different style. The "STG" contrasts in style with the panorama, however, it is not inconsistent with other contemporary Gill signatures. "STG" may or may not be his hand; it's probably too hard to tell.
The pictures are likely to have been painted around the same time, however the signatures are contrasting:
Does the study's "Adelaide" look like Gill's writing? Note the "A" formation and backcurled "d"s. This style contrasts with samples of Gill's handwriting (see his "Adelaide") on the backs of several of S.T. Gill's Set of South Australian Scenes - Bishop 1849, such as Looking East from Mount Lofty Ranges | SLSA B 72814.
At least part of the signature, "Adelaide / 45", is unlikely to be by Gill. The lighter text suggests it was added after "STG". We will return later to the subject of signatures.
We next consider authorship of the UA pictures, Hunt Meet and Race Course.
Many of us tend to look at an artwork and get an overall impression, me included. But to consider authorship we need to focus on the image details.
Viewing the images:
We can compare the UA pictures with other similar works. Both are scenes and events Gill captured in wash drawings for James Allen in 1845. And there's yet another Race Course Gill did for E.L. Montefiore.
Hunt Meet (UA) is the same view as the wash drawing for Allen.
For more, including event description and map link, see this work in the 1845 wash drawings for James Allen.
We first notice the UA watercolour is a fully rectangular picture whereas the Allen wash is an oval vignette. This difference impacts composition.
Gill excelled at artistic composition. His works have "leading lines" to draw the viewer's eye. In the Allen wash Gill aesthetically balanced the view using two roads as diagonals: the Northern Road disappearing into the left distance and the crossroad, Montague Road, stretching to the distance right. By contrast, the squarer Hunt Meet (UA) watercolour has left out the right of the picture and this visual balance is lost. In the wash the foreground log and vegetation also reinforce the visual diagonal that is the Northern Road.
Gill excelled at perspective in the built environment. In the watercolour the perspective of the buildings is out and the rooves have overly steep pitch. The loss of perspective can be partly explained by trying to take the landscape content of the wider ratio wash and squeeze it into the narrower ratio watercolour.
The wash has Gill's typical sense of action with two fast riders arriving at right. The watercolour just has two milling groups.
The watercolour has some notable additions: the signboard on the inn, the man with dog on a lead (left foreground) and the hound master with horn.
The man and dog is very like the pair in North Terrace looking east and Trinity Church | AGSA 0.648, part of the James Allen commission which came back to South Australia in 1890. I think Gill intended this as a self-portrait (walking his dog). The North Terrace view includes the Police Office for dog registration – also pictured close up in Foot Police Station House | NLA NK2038/02 – something well known to those originally viewing these pictures in 1845. But in Hunt Meet this historical relevance is lost; the dog owner just stands watching the scene, out of place in the country at a Dry Creek hunt. He looks more dishevelled than the North Terrace dog owner, perhaps projecting a biographical bias of half a century later.
The inn signboard is rather prominent and seems itself to be a watercolour landscape painting! The inn signboard was a topic of particular interest to Scott in 1895, and we shall return to that later. The hound master with horn doesn't appear in any Gill hunt pictures, including The Seasons and The Months.
The content is sufficient evidence that Hunt Meet (UA) is not by Gill.
Turning to the "signature", "STG Adelaide '45" is on a slight diagonal but otherwise has the same problems as Sturt's Departure (study) above.
Race Course (UA) is the same view as the wash drawings for Allen and Montefiore.
For more, including event description and map link, see this work in the 1845 wash drawings for James Allen.
Race Course, Adelaide | SLNSW SSV3/Rac/Vic P/1
For more, see this work in S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore.
The Allen and Montefiore washes are very like each other without being identical. They are topical historical pictures and show the January 1845 New Year Races. Both feature Robinson's horse "Cobbler" in a striped coat and have a jockey carrying a saddle. By contrast, the UA watercolour has a jockey carrying just a blanket and "Cobbler" isn't to be found.
Dogs were a hazard at the races and were strongly discouraged.1 The Allen wash has just one loose dog; the Montefiore wash has none. In loss of historical sensibility the UA picture has four dogs, two of them are dashing across the home straight!
The washes show a well-behaved crowd. By contrast, prominent in the UA foreground are two drunk characters and a third drinking out of a bottle. Social sensitivity is lost. The UA scene seems to echo the staggerer in Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia, Annual Show 1846 | AGSA 0.38. However the 1846 over-imbiber was not gratuitous; he was modest and topical given the number of beer tents in the background! (We will return later to the A&H Show 1846 watercolour as it is part of the bigger story around the Scotts and the Adelaide signatures.)
Gill rarely portrayed drunks, especially in his South Australian period. The one other portrayal is 1851 Old Colonists' Festival Dinner where it was highly topical and central to the story behind his competitive lithographing!
We notice the watercolour is a fully rectangular picture whereas the washes are oval vignettes. This difference impacts composition. The washes convey a sense of wide open space and distance (at left), but this sense is lost in the narrower ratio watercolour.
At left foreground in the UA watercolour, three horses and two riders, one a policeman, seem not to resolve properly. They are so close to each other it looks like the policeman is sitting backwards on his horse. (What explains this? Imaging? Paint loss? Artist error?)
One minute detail is oddly identical in both the watercolour and the Allen wash – the tent fold to the right of the words "Grand Stand". This insignificant but identical detail suggests copying.
For variety however, the couple's cart is in the washes but not the UA watercolour; the Governor's carriage is in both the watercolour and the Montefiore picture.
The "signature" "STG Adelaide '45" is on a slight diagonal but otherwise has the same problems as Sturt's Departure (study) and Hunt Meet (UA).
The content is sufficient evidence that Race Course (UA) is not by Gill.
In summary, by comparing the UA watercolours with the corresponding Allen washes we identify major problems:
We can further conclude the UA pictures have been derived largely from the 1845 wash drawings for James Allen. (The identical tent fold ruled out the Montefiore Race Course as a source.) A further likely source (for the man with dog on a lead) is North Terrace looking east and Trinity Church | AGSA 0.648, part of the James Allen commission which came back to South Australia in 1890. A further inspiration is the inn "signboard" which we shall return to later.
We next need to look at the background to these works.
In 1890 watercolours from England by William Light and S. T. Gill were added to the AGSA collection. There was a surge of interest in artist representations of South Australia half a century earlier. In 1893, 1895 and 1899, five further pictures said to be by Gill came to light in Adelaide.
In London at the end of 1889 Sir Edwin Smith purchased three watercolours by William Light to present them to the (then) National Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of South Australia – AGSA). While there he also saw other works of interest.
Sir Edwin Smith saw a number of other early South Australian views in the office of the South Australian Company in London, and through his intervention it is almost certain that the Company will present them to the Art Gallery here.2
The Company did donate items in 1890, including seven watercolours by S.T. Gill. Originally these were part of a 1845 commission for James Allen to take on a promotional tour of England.
Smith gave the Pictorial Australian access to the original works in order to reproduce them in the press.
Last year, when Sir Edwin T. Smith was in England, he succeeded in purchasing four very valuable sketches from the brush of Colonel Light, and with his usual forethought and generosity he has presented them to the South Australian Art Gallery. The water colour drawings comprise a view of the first encampment at Patawalonga Creek, Glenelg, the site of the city, and two others. By the kindness of Sir Edwin we have been enabled to reproduce the most important of the water colours, and in doing so we have endeavoured to follow the original as closely as possible.3
The outcome was the colour supplement in that 1890 New Year edition of the Pictorial Australian reproducing The Site of Adelaide from the Original Sketch by Col. Light, R.N.. It's of interest here that the Pictorial Australian's artist made a small historical error to which a copyist is vulnerable, and seemingly has a horse or donkey pulling a hay cart instead of the bullock in Light's faded original. [I noted this in 2019 in Where are the Kaurna? William Light's 1837 view near the site for Adelaide.]
The Pictorial Australian continued to have access to the Gallery collection for newspaper reproduction. Sketched copies of twelve recent acquisitions were reproduced in The Pictorial Australian on 1 September 1892. They were quite rough black and white sketches, as suited the need of fitting a dozen scenes on one page.
"Local artists George Leonard and Alfred Scott Broad illustrated the first issues of the Pictorial Australian. They were joined in 1887 by Edward Harral and Arthur Esam." – State Library of South Australia | SA Memory4
The appearance of scenes from half a century ago spurred interest in pictures of the "old times". One taking great interest was Spencer Skipper, the son of artist John Michael Skipper. In October 1892 Spencer wrote about his late father's art in a letter to the Register editor.
... I quite relish the unconcious satire of the paragraphist in suggesting that a picture by the late J. M. Skipper was used for many years as a signboard. The joke is enjoyable. My father was so devoted to art that he would paint for the mere love of it and refuse remuneration. There is a historical "signboard picture" of his – I believe now at the Eagle-on-the-Hill – representing an old coach and horses in the early days, with many well-known men of times gone by introduced. Various good sums, I am told, have been refused for this signboard, which has often been admired as a work of art ... SPENCER J. SKIPPER.5
A letter to the editor, however Skipper was on the literary staff of the Register.6 The newspaper was part of the Register / Evening Journal / Observer stable of editor Robert Kyffin Thomas. Skipper's signboard would be mentioned in the press again.
The 1893 show of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society opened to the public on Thursday 2 March. The report of the second day introduced a watercolour of a show half a century earlier.
Mr. Bagot, the enthusiastic Secretary of the Society, had on view a watercolour representation of the Autumn Show held in 1846. It was painted by Mr. S. J. Gill (sic.), and forms a most interesting relic, the primitive nature of the various arrangements emphasizing most eloquently the progress which has been made since then.7
It was not said how the enthusiastic secretary came upon the picture.
This watercolour was noted again six months later in a September 1893 Register / Observer article "Old-Time Agricultural Shows. A Retrospect. [By a Native]".8 The article incorporated historical background, describing the shows from 1840 to 1844, though unfortunately the background didn't extend to the 1846 exhibition. The author relied on "old-time Register report(s)"; it was rather nostalgic – "old-time" was mentioned six times. It read in part:
So far I have traced the old-time Shows from their starting-point. To give an idea of what they were after the exhibits grew beyond the limited accommodation afforded by hotel, schoolroom, and auction mart is somewhat difficult, but the Park Lands were eventually resorted to, where the Shows were for a long time afterwards held under canvass, and the site was that where the Old Exhibition Building now stands. A valuable watercolour picture of the Show held in 1846, by the late Mr. S. T. Gill, contains a most faithful representation of what the buildings were like. It represents one of the March Shows, and the tent containing the exhibits is a comparatively diminutive structure, as are also the side booths with headings of calico, upon which the names of the principal proprietors of old-time hotels are painted. The background, where the Botanic Gardens and Park are now situated, was then a perfect forest of trees. In the foreground are represented the conveyances at that time used for the transport of produce, before the advent of macadamized or defined roads, or even forest-cut tracks. Of the former, bullock-drays are most conspicuous in the picture. A blue painted German wagon, and an old woman with yoke, baskets, and scales for weighing out the fruit, &c., she has carried there to sell; whilst old-time cabbagetree-hatted visitors, who have partaken of something stronger than fruit, with policemen, are – as they should be – to the front.8
(The 1846 exhibition was actually held on Thursday 19 February.)
"A Native" had studied the picture. The detailed description matches a Gill watercolour that later found its way into the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA):
Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia, Autumn Show 1846 | AGSA 0.38
In List of Works below I suggest a title change from "Autumn Show" to "Annual Show".
It is significant that the bottom of this picture was trimmed, almost removing Gill's signature – just a partial "T', "G" and "6" remained. A replacement signature "S.T.G 1846" was added, though not by Gill. The replacement signature is similar to those in the UA watercolours, raising the possibility it was from by the same hand.
The writer, "A Native", clearly had access to an archive of Register / Observer newspapers. Spencer Skipper could be the writer, but being on the Register's "literary staff", it seems unlikely he'd have such a byline. The byline suggests a casual South Australian born contributor.
The thoroughly researched article seems to have swayed the Society to act at its next monthly meeting.
A painting by S. T. Gill of the Society's Show on the Park Lands in 1846 was laid on the table. The older members of the committee, who have vivid recollections of the Show, regarded the picture as a very good one, and on the motion of Mr. W. Haines it was decided to purchase it for £5 5s.9
The "old time" painting is mentioned in passing again a few months later in an article on the Mount Barker show in October 1894:
There is hanging in the Royal Agricultural Society's Rooms in Adelaide a quaint old time colonial picture by S. T. Gill of an early South Australian Show away back in 1846. It is a truly rural scene, with sturdy middle aged pioneer settlers in the orthodox capacious coats, baggy breeches, and chimney-pot hats of a fearful and wonderful shape; likewise ample motherly dames in equally ample shawls of many colours and coal scuttle bonnets.10
This article's byline – "By our Special Reporter" – again suggests this is not a staff reporter such as Skipper.
Who might be reporting on the Mount Barker show? A possible writer is Winnifred Scott, herself later a journalist at the Register / Observer. Winnifred was the daughter of artist Margaret Cochrane Scott. Mother and daughter resided together in the district. Winnifred was an amateur artist and soon to be author. (Just four months later Winnifred Scott had a writing breakthrough when she was accepted for publication in The Antipodean's approaching Christmas annual.11) She would later write regularly under the nom de plume "Magpie" in the Register / Observer newspapers.
There is also a strange "copy" of the 1846 show picture in RAHSSA archives:
Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia, Annual Show 1846 (COPY) | RAHSSA (Click for larger.)
Image from Linn (2014). A signature of sorts, "STG", appears lower centre. What was seen in 1893: the original, this copy, or both? How did this picture come into the collection? RAHSSA archives may hold answers to these questions.
Our attention is next on Winnifred's mother, Margaret Cochrane Scott (Mrs D.W. Scott).
Two years after the A&H Society bought the 1846 show picture, three more pictures surfaced in the press. In September 1895 Scott showed three paintings said to be by S.T. Gill, not at a public exhibition, but to the Register / Observer newspaper:
OLD COLONIAL SKETCHES. – Amongst the early colonial artists to whom the descendants of the pioneers are indebted for sketches which now show the scenes in which the first settlers worked, and give ideas of how the embryo City of Adelaide and its founders in their habit as they lived, looked, and worked, was Mr S.T. Gill. There are several of the reproductions of his sketches to be seen, but to get hold of the originals is a rare experience, and the possessor of any of his work of the pioneer days is considered fortunate, for they are precious from old association's sake, and will become more so as time goes on.
Mrs. D. W. Scott, of Norton's Summit, has shown us three original sketches of Gill's, which are the more valuable because copies are exceedingly scarce; indeed, we question whether there are any to be got here.
One of them represents a meeting of the Adelaide hounds at Dry Creek in 1845, and is spiritedly depicted. The meet is in front of an old-time hotel – probably Gepp's Cross – and the scene is eloquent of life and activity, the eager hounds nosing round, the horses fidgeting and impatient, and the men on the alert.
Another records in sepia an equally spirited incident – a race-day on the Adelaide Racecourse, looking south. The Grand Stand is a very modest affair, and is propped up on one side by beams as trusses or buttresses. Horsemen, pedestrians, dogs, and tramps are scattered about, and in the foreground are three jolly sailors who appear to have been enjoying a day ashore, one certainly carries much more sail than ballast, and is in tow of his companions.
The third picture is entitled "The Agricultural and Horse (sic.) Exhibition on the Park Lands, Adelaide, South Australia," and is a year anterior to the old painting hanging in the rooms of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society now, and is from a different aspect. It is well painted throughout, the horses are cleverly drawn, and the whole animated scene is vivaciously presented in good clear colour. There is one gentleman on a handsome grey horse, who figures in the other sketches as well – probably some old colonist might identify him, he seems a notable character.
These relics of early days are well worth preserving – it is a wonder that they have survived the vicissitudes of years as they have done.12
The "year anterior" to the other A&H exhibition picture implies this one is the 1845 show. The three descriptions are important and interesting. Note, all three pictures are said to feature a gentleman mounted on a grey. They correspond with known works:
Strangely Adelaide Racecourse is referred to as a sepia rather than watercolour, however the "three jolly sailors" confirm this is Race Course (UA).
A fortnight later the three pictures – now three watercolours and none sepia – were framed and on display in town. The Register / Observer again:
The three interesting watercolour sketches by the late Mr. S. T. Gill, are now on view at Messrs. E. S. Wigg & Son's, where they have been framed. It is curious that the locality of one of the scenes should be identified by another old painting. Gill's view of the meet of the hounds in front of an old-time hotel on the North-road has been much discussed, and various opinions expressed as to which hostelry of those days it is. However, close inspection revealed on the front a long signboard in the nature of a picture, and this has been identified as the representation of one which the late Mr. John Michael Skipper, a pioneer lawyer and artistic genius, painted for a freak before 1845 for the sporting landlord of the old Coach and Horses Hotel standing on the road to Salisbury, which, in those days, was a sporting region. This was several feet long, admirably painted in oils on zinc, and represents a coach with a splendid team of horses and loaded with passengers, all notable colonists. There are also horsemen and the bullock-dray of the period, the whole executed with the artistic touch and attention to detail which characterized Mr. Skipper's work. This picture has been for some years in the old Eagle-on-the-Hill Hotel, Mount Lofty-road, and is regarded by early colonists who have seen it as one of the most interesting pictorial records of the old times. Many tempting offers have been made, but the owner will not part with it. The representation of it in Gill's sketch is naturally very small, but it is easily identified. This discovery lends additional interest to the pictures by Gill owned by Mrs. D. W. Scott, who showed them to us recently.13
There is much enthusiasm here including the reference to Skipper's "artistic genius"! It could well be this article (without byline) was written by Spencer Skipper, and hence that Mrs Scott showed him the pictures.
Skipper's signboard reappears in miniature, apparently lending a touch of authenticity. However the writer errs in fact. Although the Coach and Horses was a sporting locale – for occasions such horse racing, cricket and pigeon shooting – it was on the Port Road. Gill's Hunt Meet is at the Dry Creek Inn on the Northern Road. Was it the reporter or the artist that placed the Coach and Horses signboard on the Dry Creek Inn?
We turn now to the third of Mrs Scott's pictures, the 1845 "Agricultural and Horse Exhibition" (sic.). (It was a horticultural, not a horse show. A misreading of "hort'l"?)
The description of the 1845 show picture matches in detail a Gill watercolour listed by Appleyard (no. 71):
Agricultural and Horticultural Exhibition, Adelaide, 1845 | Private collectionThe "gentleman on a handsome grey horse" is prominent (foreground right).
To see the signature, follow the link above (to WatercolourWorld.org) and zoom in to the lower left.
This "signature" reads "STG/45 Adelaide". "STG" looks to be by Gill in his serif style – similar to Sturt's Departure (panorama). It's too hard to judge authenticity of the "/45" date. However "Adelaide" has the same problems as Sturt's Departure (study) mentioned above.
We have now matched all three of Mrs Scott's pictures with currently held works.
We now come to the 1899 find of Sturt's Departure.
The Register / Observer reported seeing yet another picture in February 1899. (This newspaper was the "go to" place!)
We have been shown a most interesting watercolour drawing by the early colonial artist, Mr. S. T. Gill, of Captain Sturt's departure from Adelaide upon his exploration expedition in 1844. It is in Gill's characteristic style, and represents a scene of bustle and enthusiasm in King William-street as it then was ... There are the inevitable horseman on the white steed which the artist almost invariably introduced into his street scenes ... It is said that the sketch, which is in capital preservation, was found behind a painting in the same frame, hence its good condition. It is the property of Miss Little, of Woodville, and ought to be added to our national collection of examples of early colonial art, which are becoming more and more valuable year by year.14
The "horseman on the white steed" – the "gentleman on a handsome grey horse" – was both "inevitable" and "almost invariable") in a Gill! The only extant such picture with this prominent horse and rider is Sturt's Departure (study) (previously discussed):
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | AGSA 0.1522
At the time of writing this work was not yet available online in the AGSA public catalogue.
Author photo: hanging in exhibition at NLA in 2016.
Although there is no precise provenance for the "horseman on the white steed" picture, a partial one may be suggested:
We have now likely matched Miss Little's find with a currently held work: Sturt's Departure (study). All five 1890s revelations are now matched with currently held works.
It's helpful to now summarise the "Adelaide" signatures discussed above.
| Surfaced | Subject | Reference | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1893, Mr Bagot | A&H Show 1846 | AGSA 0.38 | STG 1846 (other hand above trimmed original) |
| 1895, Mrs. D.W. Scott | Hunt Meet | UA A.VA.2006.0016 | STG Adelaide/45 (fake) |
| 1895, Mrs. D.W. Scott | Race Course | UA A.VA.2006.0015 | STG Adelaide/45 (fake) |
| 1895, Mrs. D.W. Scott | A&H Show 1845 | Appleyard no. 71 | STG (original?). Adelaide (other hand) |
| 1899, Miss Little | Sturt's Departure (study) | AGSA 0.1522 | STG Adelaide 45 (other hand) |
| 1939, V.K. Burmeister | Sturt's Departure (panorama) | AGSA 0.1128 | STG ADELADE (genuine by artist) |
Gill rarely signed "Adelaide". There is definitely one authentic "Adelaide" signature by Gill in 1845, and that is Sturt's Departure (panorama) which is signed "STG ADELADE" in Gill's characteristic misspelling. All the rest involve another hand or hands.
It is significant that we have a cluster of "Adelaide" signature works come to public attention in the 1890s. Gill's "Adelaide" signatures are rare; only two others are known – in Burra 1847 works – but these are both "STG ADELAIDE", upper case like the original signature on Sturt's Departure (panorama), but by then correctly spelt.15
A&H Show 1846 is key. This is because there's a detectable remnant of Gill's original signature. The work was trimmed at the bottom and the original signature was mostly lost. This could have been an unfortunate outcome of framing. Or it could have been intentional. The re-signing of that work means all five watercolours surfacing in the 1890s have the same style of "signature" and not in Gill's hand – three genuine pictures and two fakes.
From where did the other artist get the idea for an "Adelaide" signature? It would have come from originals – either Sturt's Departure (panorama) or SA Mining Association's Burra pictures. I think Sturt's Departure (panorama) was the more likely source because of its common subject matter and its possible ownership by artist and collector, Frederick Francis Burmeister.
To create a fake requires something to copy or emulate. What original art sources were needed?
We've shown the artist relied on the 1845 wash drawings for James Allen. Interestingly the Allen wash drawings were not known to have been available to the public, so Hunt Meet (UA) and Race Course (UA) would have seemed fresh Gill scenes when they appeared in Adelaide in 1895. So how did the artist get access to the Allen washes? A plausible explanation is that they may have been photographed by Sir Edwin T. Smith during his artwork hunt at the London office of the South Australian Company in 1889. (For more on the provenance of the Allen washes, see: S.T. Gill - A Miscellany | Puzzle of Provenance – W.A. Bell – NLA 1932.) Smith was able to purchase William Light works then – might someone also have purchased the Allen washes?
Another source for the UA pictures appears to be the watercolours received by AGSA in 1890 from the South Australian Company. As mentioned above Hunt Meet (UA) seems to have drawn on AGSA 0.648 for the man with dog on a lead. Just as Sir Edwin T. Smith was generous with access to artworks for the Pictorial Australian, may he also have done the same for Winnifred Scott of the Register / Evening Journal / Observer?
A further source of inspiration for Hunt Meet (UA) was J.M. Skipper's signboard hanging in the Eagle-on-the-Hill Hotel, not far from the Scotts at Norton Summit.
The "inevitable horseman on the white steed" seems to have been borrowed from Sturt's Departure (study) for use in Hunt Meet (UA) and Race Course (UA). It lent an inevitable air of authenticity.
Someone made "Adelaide signatures" on five watercolours. Sturt's Departure (panorama) seems to be the likely inspiration. The cluster of "Adelaide signatures" suggests these pictures were each at some time in the artist's hands. (None of these pictures were in the National Gallery at the time; they were all in private hands.)
We now look at the Scott and Little family connections. Mrs D.W. Scott was born Margaret Cochrane Little.
What follows is a select chronology for the three women and their art and journalism interest.
Margaret Cochrane Little and her sister Mary Fyfe Little had several paintings in the South Australian Society of Arts 1859 exhibition. All were said to have been lent by Margaret.16
Margaret Cochrane Little married David Wylie Scott, 18 September 1861 at The Falls, Yankalilla.17 David Wylie Scott, a one time editor of the Port Adelaide News, died in December 1887 leaving a widow, Margaret Cochrane Scott and one daughter, Winnifred, 22.18
"Art, always a hobby, [Margaret] took up in earnest after Mr. Scott's death in 1887."19
In March-April 1894 Winnifred Scott was nominated for South Australian Society of Arts associateship and elected unamimously.20
Mrs D.W. Scott of Norton Summit who owned the three "Gills" in 1895 is Margaret Cochrane Scott nee Little, a noted artist who specialised in flower painting. She lived with her daughter Winnifred "Magpie" Scott in the former Rock Tavern at Norton Summit after it's bar was dismantled in 1894 and the two storey house became their private residence for nine years.21
Winnifred "began reporting for the Adelaide press when she was living with her parents at Norton's Summit, and she took a room at North Adelaide for the busiest part of the week only, returning to her home at the end of that time."22
In September 1895, Margaret Cochrane Scott showed the three watercolours to the Register / Observer newspaper. Her daughter Winnifred "Magpie" Scott wrote regularly for these mastheads. Could either woman have painted the UA pictures?
Margaret and Winnifred both exhibited at the South Australian Society of Arts exhibition in 1896.23
The identity is less certain regarding "Miss Little, of Woodville" who revealed Sturt's Departure (study) in February 1899. But plausibly it was Mary Fyfe Little, Margaret's sister.
On 8 December 1912, Miss Mary Fyfe Little died at the residence of her sister, Margaret Cochrane Scott, Sun Street, Marryatville.24
There is a puzzle to solve.
Mrs D. W. Scott presented the two fakes alongside an original in 1895.
Winnifred, a "native" born South Australian, was a journalist with the the Register / Evening Journal / Observer stable of editor Robert Kyffin Thomas. As such she also had the attention of Spencer Skipper at the same newspapers.
Winnifred may have managed the story from the A&H Show 1846 picture in 1893 (using the Register archives), to the 1895 three "Gills" of her mother's, and to the 1899 Sturt's Departure (study) of her aunty.
1895's one original and two fakes was both a risk and a clever trick. The fakes had to be good enough to pass. The audience was only those who checked in the window of E. S. Wigg. They were told to expect three Gills. The styles and signatures were alike, and there lay the magic.
That it was said of the 1899 find "that the sketch, which is in capital preservation, was found behind a painting in the same frame" meant Miss Little could claim ignorance of its provenance. That Miss Little revealed it avoided any questions potentially falling on how Mrs D. W. Scott had so many "Gills".
The project seems to have had five paintings pass through the artist's hands, all having unoriginal signatures applied. Were each applied in advance of their coming to light? Maybe.
Winnifred "Magpie" Scott was a professional journalist and an amateur artist. In 1914, aged 49, following a visit to an army camp in Adelaide, she wrote of her artistic ambition in her Chatter column:
If there was a modern S. T. Gill, an artist with an eye to news values, still more to future historical values, he would paint that camp. Not in any detailed way that could in any way annoy, even South Australian censors, but the general effect of the dusty plain and the brown, dusty tents with the frame of fine old gums, and the lines of horses, and the men; tough, bronzed, out-of-doors men for the most part, going quietly and methodically about the unfamiliar business they have in hand. Those happiest, it seemed to me, who were dealing with the horses. How I long, sometimes, to be able to paint as some folk can. The world is so full of pictures tremendously worth doing. But colour and line are not for me, only words, which are uncertain, meaning one thing to one mind, and something quite different to another. So that if one ever stopped to think of the possibilities of misunderstanding one would refrain even from good ones... MAGPIE25
Magpie. Gill.
This analysis removes two fake works from Gill's catalogue. They're not by Gill. Were they by Winnifred "Magpie" Scott?
The fakes have distorted our view of Gill. Drunk and dishevelled was not part of his South Australian years. Unfortunately these fakes projected that biased impression from half a century later, back to where they didn't belong.
This analysis also resolves otherwise problematic "signatures" that have confused Gill's catalogue and chronology.
To see these works, with accompanying notes, just scroll down or jump to the List of Works.
DAAO. Ran He, date created Jan. 1, 1992, last updated Nov. 22, 2012, Scott, Margaret Cochrane. Publisher: Design & Art Australia Online, date accessed 2021-07-27, <https://daao.org.au/bio/margaret-cochrane-scott/>, CC-BY-NC-SA.
You can scroll down to see all pictures along with detailed notes or click a link to jump to a specific work from the list.
Detailed notes each include a link to the map location for the view.
Agricultural and Horticultural Exhibition, Adelaide, 1845 | Private collection
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-02~ | Appleyard cat. 71 | 19.7(H) x 30.2(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and George French Angas, 1844-1845
The Agricultural and Horticultural Exhibition was held in Adelaide on Friday 14 February 1845 on the Park Lands to the northeast of the city. This is a rear view of the exhibition showing the carriage entrance and behind the 120 foot long main pavillion and three smaller marquees set amongst the gum trees. In 1845, the carriage entrance was "at the gate on North Terrace, at the corner of the Frome Bridge Road." Gill painted rear views such as this (showing the carriage entrance) as well as front views. In this scene a four-wheel carriage arrives accompanied by two mounted policemen - likely that of the Governor, George Grey.
It is an almost identical view to the Angas provenanced NGA 2012.25. In both pictures the placement is near identical for: woman with scales (centre foreground), blue / grey painted German cart (right), foreground and middleground trees, the Governor's four-wheel carriage and mounted police.
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
240
Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia, Autumn Show 1846 | Art Gallery of South Australia 0.38
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1846 | Appleyard cat. 74 | 25.3(H) x 39.2(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill, November 1845 to June 1846
A view of the Agricultural and Horticultural exhibition in 1846. The exhibition was held on Thursday 19 February and there was a food and drink fair the following day, though carriage arrivals suggest this to be show day. I suggest a title change from "Autumn Show" to "Annual Show", the name by which it was then known. (The "autumn" title may be a misreading or anachronism.)
Hotel signs read "Little Parra Inn, C. Harvey", "Wheat Sheaf ...", "Potter", "Roberts" and "Grapes". These five are included in the list of seven hotel signs in The Observer, 28 February 1846 notes: (William Roberts') "Queen's Arms," "Grapes," "Harvey's Little Para Inn;" "Wheat Sheaf;" (James Potter's) "Albion;" the "Woodman;" and the "Red Lion."
One man carrying a bottle (foreground right), appears worse the wear from drink and is helped from the grounds. Gill generally does not portray drunks during the South Australian years with the exception of the 1851 Old Colonists' Festival Dinner where he had a specific motive to do so. And in this case, with all the hotel booths, the drunk is definitely topical.
The newspaper reported: We liked the idea of the rural taverns, "all in" two rows and the well preserved styles and titles, which showed them to be branch establishments. There was the "Queen's Arms," and the "Grapes," "Harvey's Little Para Inn;" the "Wheat Sheaf;" the "Albion;" the "Woodman;" and the "Red Lion." Eatables and drinkables were to be had, in variety and abundance; but we noticed that the latter, were most "called for;" and indeed there was so little intermission for any of the attendants; that an incorrigible punster declared, the "Red Lion" was without paws.
Adelaide Observer, 28 February 1846: 8.<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158921896>
The same paper acclained the natural beauty of the sight: "we mistrust our own powers of description, and therefore shall not rest satisfied until one of our clever artists shall have sketched the animated scene; and transferred it to the lithographer, for the admiration and enlightenment of distant enquirers". Adelaide Observer, 28 February 1846: 6. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158921925>. Perhaps got more than it bargained for!
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
243
Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia, Annual Show 1846 (COPY) | Royal Agricultural and Horticural Society of South Australia
Artist: Scott, Winnifred? copy Gill, S.T. | Date: 1890~/1899~
Main listing: S.T. Gill - Scott Fakes and Adelaide Signatures
Described in Linn (2014) as "an artist's copy of an S.T. Gill painting", it is the same picture as AGSA 0.38. The copy has minor differences such as the "Roberts" sign being missing, background trees and style. These are not Gill's colours. A signature of sorts, "STG", appears lower centre. Was this the version of this scene that appeared in 1893?
Linn, Rob. Sharing the good earth : 175 years of influence and vision : Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society of South Australia Incorporated. 2014.
378
Meeting of Adelaide hounds at Dry Creek, Northern Road | National Library of Australia R109
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-05~/1845-11 | Appleyard cat. n/a | 11.7(H) x 20.1(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and James Allen, 1845
A meeting of the Adelaide Hounds (sometimes called the Adelaide Hunt) outside James Hill's Dry Creek Inn. The inn was about seven miles from Adelaide on the Northern Road, this road being pictured in front of the inn and stretching into the left distance. Montague Road stretches to the distance right. A meet was held here 10 August 1844 after the departure of Sturt's expedition, but the absence of flower bedecking and expeditioners suggests this is not meant to be that occasion. A hunt was also held here on the afternoon of 24 May 1845 on the occasion of the Queen's Birthday, this corresponding well with James Allen's timing.
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide District
4
A Hunt Meet at Dry Creek, near Adelaide 1845 | University of Adelaide A.VA.2006.0016
Artist: Scott, Winnifred? copy Gill, S.T. | Date: 1890~/1895~ | Appleyard cat. 72 | 22(H) x 35.5(W) cm
Main listing: S.T. Gill - Scott Fakes and Adelaide Signatures
A meeting of the Adelaide Hounds outside James Hill's Dry Creek Inn. This is very similar to the monochrome wash for James Allen (NLA R109), with some notable additions: the sign board added to the inn, the man with dog on lead (left foreground - an apparent Gill self-portrait like AGSA 0.648) and the hound master with horn. This watercolour significantly omits the wash's visually balancing cross road (right).
The only other known picture of this scene is a wash drawing for James Allen Meeting of Adelaide hounds at Dry Creek, Northern Road | NLA R109.
Note: the link and online image are SLSA's photograph of the watercolour.
This fake work is discussed in detail in the body of the article.
13
Trinity Church, Adelaide 1845 | Art Gallery of South Australia 0.648
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-05~/1845-11 | Appleyard cat. n/a | 27.3(H) x 39(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and James Allen, 1845
Looking east along North Terrace from just west of Morphett Street (at right) featuring Trinity Church (Acre 9) after it was rebuilt in mid-1845. Families walk from the direction of North Adelaide to the church. At left a man carries a baby - seemingly in a christening dress. At right a man with his dog on a lead - likely intended as the artist himself - walks away from church, but looks back over his shoulder.
Partly shown at right is The Subscription Library which occupied the former offices of George Morphett from about April 1845. At the far end of the street is the two storey white wall of the Bank of South Australia. Near left is a continuation of Morphett Street leading across the river to North Adelaide. The Police Office is left middle-ground.
There are no Aboriginal people apparent in this scene.
The opposite view west along North Terrace is shown in AGSA 0.938.
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
22
Race Course, Adelaide | State Library of New South Wales SSV3/Rac/Vic P/1
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845 | Appleyard cat. n/a | 20(H) x 28(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
The scene is the annual New Year races held on 1-3 January 1845. The view is down the straight with the hills in the background and the Grand Stand at right. The races were run on the Park Lands near the southeast corner of the city. The Grand Stand was funded and erected by Henry Robinson of the Freemasons' Tavern in Pirie Street. Robinson also raced his horse "Cobbler" who, with "Matilda", was the focus of the races. Prominent in the left foreground is a horse with a striped blanket - probably Robinson's "Cobbler" (see NLA R118). The open four-wheel carriage and pair likely belongs to the Governor.
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide District
350
Adelaide race course, '45 | National Library of Australia R118
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-01~/1845-11 | Appleyard cat. n/a | 11.7(H) x 20.1(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and James Allen, 1845
The scene is the annual New Year races held on 1-3 January 1845. The view is down the straight with the hills in the background and the Grand Stand at right. The races were run on the Park Lands near the southeast corner of the city. The Grand Stand was funded and erected by Henry Robinson of the Freemasons' Tavern in Pirie Street. Robinson also raced his horse "Cobbler" who, with "Matilda", was the focus of the races. Prominent in the centre foreground is a horse with a striped blanket and the letter "R" which is probably Robinson's "Cobbler".
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide District
12
A Race Meeting at Adelaide 1845 | University of Adelaide A.VA.2006.0015
Artist: Scott, Winnifred? copy Gill, S.T. | Date: 1890~/1895~ | Appleyard cat. 73 | 19.5(H) x 30(W) cm
Main listing: S.T. Gill - Scott Fakes and Adelaide Signatures
The New Year Races in Adelaide. The open four-wheel carriage and pair is likely the Governor.
This is the same view as the monochrome wash drawings for James Allen Adelaide race course, '45 | NLA R118 and E. L. Montefiore Race Course, Adelaide | SLNSW SSV3/Rac/Vic P/1. In fact a tiny detail is oddly identical in both this and the Allen picture - the tent fold to the right of the words "Grand Stand".
Note: the link is to SLSA's photograph of the watercolour.
This fake work is discussed in detail in the body of the article.
14
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | Art Gallery of South Australia 0.1522
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-02~/1845-04~ | Appleyard cat. 80.1 | 21.3(H) x 33.9(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
The scene is the departure from Adelaide of Charles Sturt's Great Northern Expedition on 10 August 1844 ("side-on" view).
The cavalcade is proceeding from Grenfell Street at the right of picture and turning into and continuing north along King William Street. The view is northeast, looking from a vacant block (acre 140) diagonally across the intersection to Montefiore's store (acre 108), behind and to the right of which are the South Australian Company buldings on Rundle Street (acre 44).The building at right is Montefiore's house.
Building signs in this picture are Day & Son and (W.H.) George.
Compared with AGSA 0.1128, this picture has the same colouring, but omits Governor Grey and is half the size. It may be a study for the panorama (AGSA 0.1128) as was thought the case by gallery director Louis McCubbin in 1940.
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
250
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | Art Gallery of South Australia 0.1128
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-02~/1845-04~ | Appleyard cat. 80 | 41.3(H) x 72(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
The scene is the departure from Adelaide of Charles Sturt's Great Northern Expedition on 10 August 1844 ("side-on" view).
The cavalcade is proceeding from Grenfell Street at the right of picture and turning into and continuing north along King William Street. The view is northeast, looking from a vacant block (acre 140) diagonally across the intersection to Montefiore's store and dwelling (acre 108), behind and to the right of which are the South Australian Company buldings on Rundle Street (acre 44). Montefiore's buildings were completed in January 1844.
There are several versions of this view by Gill. This is the most panoramic and further includes at far right the (back of) the Wesleyan Chapel in Gawler Place (acre 106).
There are two top-hatted gentlemen in a two wheeled vehicle, with the near man in the grey coat probably being Governor George Grey. That being the case, the other man could be Captain O'Halloran, Grey's Private Secretary. These gentlemen also appear in NGA 2012.1307.
Unlike AGSA 0.644, this scene predates the King William Street premises (acre 79) of surgeon dentist Robert Norman built between April and July 1845. This work is dated in relation to NGA 2012.1307.
Gill misspelled when he signed this "STG ADELADE".
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
19
David Coombe. Original 3 October 2025. Updated 5 October 2025 | text copyright
CITE THIS: David Coombe, 2021-2025, S.T. Gill - Scott Fakes and Adelaide Signatures, accessed dd mmm yyyy, <http://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Scott_Fakes_and_Adelaide_Signatures.htm>