By Parker McKenzie
Entries for the Sherbrooke Art Society’s Streeton, Roberts, McCubbin Awards are now open until Friday 5 May, ahead of the exhibition running from Saturday 27 May until Saturday 24 June.
With $3250 worth of prizes to be won at the 53rd Awards, the exhibition attracts entries from all around Australia.
Sherbrooke Art Society Leanne Vassallo said last year’s awards received over 130 entries from around the country.
“There is the Arthur Streeton Award for best landscape, and the Tom Roberts Award which is the best non-landscape including portraits and still life,” she said.
“There is also the McCubbin Award, which is for the best small artwork under a certain size.”
The Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts Awards each come with a $1000 prize for the winner, and the Frederick McCubbin Award has a $500 prize.
Ms Vassallo said this year there is a new award called the Masters’ Circle Challenge.
“We’ve invited all the previous winners of the Streeton Roberts and McCubbin Awards — whether they won a major award or were highly commended — and challenged them to paint a painting inspired by the works of Streeton, Roberts and McCubbin,” she said.
“It might be a landscape from the same view that they painted, It might be a similar composition featuring an artist’s own interpretation of those paintings, but it’s the first time we’ve had this sort of challenge.”
She said the reason the Sherbrooke Art Society honours Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin is because of their connection to the hills.
Tom Roberts had a house called Talisman in Kallista from 1923 to when he died in 1931,” she said.
Arthur Streeton had his home in Long Acres, in Olinda, in 1923 when he first came there, so it’s really 100 years ago both of those men moved to the hills and chose to live there.”
Entries into the awards cost $15 for members and $20 for non-members and the gallery will retain a 30 per cent commission on any artwork sold during the exhibition.
During the exhibition, a special talk on women in the shadows of Streeton, Roberts and McCubbin will be held on May 13, the day before Mother’s Day.
Ms Vassallo said the society is also celebrating 100 years of the Red Mill, the gallery building.
“We’re asking anyone with photos, memories or history of the Red Mill building in Belgrave to come and see us to help us collate its history,” she said.
“Three of our local historical societies have been researching our building, but if the community has anything they have remembered or has old photos, we’d love to add it to our records.”
More information on the Streeton, Roberts and McCubbin Awards can be found at sherbrookegallery.com
