Max Meldrum

Background

Meldrum was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, son of Edward David Meldrum, chemist, and his wife Christine, née Macglashan.

Education

Meldrum studied at the National Gallery School in Melbourne.

Career

The family emigrated to Australia in 1889. Soon after, he became dissatisfied with the academic conventions of the Paris schools and left them to study on his own. In 1915 he took a studio at 527 Collins Street, for a time sharing it with Harley Griffiths, senior.

He ran the Meldrum School of painting there between 1916 and 1926.

In 1916-1917 he was elected president of the Victorian Artists" Society. Meldrum influenced the young Albert Ernest Newbury.

While in Paris, he befriended American painter Joseph Allworthy. Meldrum stayed with Allworthy during his American tour lecturing on his theory of tonal analysis.

Meldrum died in Kew, Victoria.

Achievements

• He is known as the founder of Australian Tonalism, a representational style of painting, as well as his portrait work, for which he won the Archibald Prize in 1939 and 1940. In 1899, he won the Victorian Travelling Scholarship, under which he chose to complete his art education in Paris. Meldrum criticized Nora Heysen"s 1938 Archibald win, saying that women could not be expected to paint as well as mentor

Connections

Friend:

Arnold Shore