Lot 54

Private collection, Melbourne

Born in Inverleigh, Victoria, Elizabeth (Lily) de Crillon Berthon was one of eight children of early settlers William Berthon and Elizabeth Kelly. In 1880, the family settled at "Wybellenna" on Painkalac Creek at Aireys Inlet, a landscape that remained closely associated with her work. Although little is known about Berthon today, the surviving records reveal an artist closely connected to Victoria's artistic community.

She studied under landscape painter Charles Rolando, who taught painting in Melbourne from the mid-1880s until his death in 1893. At a time when Melbourne's artistic community was flourishing through art schools, sketch clubs and en plein air painting, Berthon was among a growing number of artists drawn to painting and sketching directly from the landscape.

Between 1890 and 1893, Berthon became an active member of the Victorian Sketching Club, joining excursions to Heidelberg, Ivanhoe, Studley Park and Sandringham, among other locations around Melbourne. Berthon also exhibited with the Club, and at its 1892 exhibition, her treatment of river scenery was praised for its "true regard for colour and composition". (1) By 1894, she was advertising classes in 'sketching from nature and landscape painting in oils' (2) in the Geelong Advertiser, where she identified herself as a pupil of Rolando.

Berthon's paintings were included in Melbourne art sales, with an 1890 sale held by Shevill & Co. featuring works by Florence Fuller, Clara Southern and Walter Withers. Later sales included her work alongside artists including Arthur Streeton and Rupert Bunny. In 1900, Geelong mayor G. F. Belcher donated 'Entrance to Aireys Inlet' (1898) to the Geelong Gallery, where it remains in the collection.

Hannah Ryan
Senior Art Specialist

(1) The Victorian Sketching Club Exhibition, The Age, Melbourne, 29 October 1892, p. 15
(2) Geelong Advertiser, Victoria, 30 June 1894, p. 3