Thomas (Tom) William Roberts Britain, Australia, Europe, 1856-1931
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Tom Roberts
Auction Houses
About Tom Roberts
Born in Dorchester, England. Arrived in Melbourne in 1869 and attended the National Gallery School. He went abroad for further study and returned in 1885. Roberts made his headquarters at Box Hill with McCubbin and soon attracted Streeton with the idea of impressionism, which opposed the academic style of the popular painters of the time. In 1888 Roberts and Streeton were joined by Conder and together held the first impressionist exhibition in Melbourne. The exhibition provoked the wrath of the critics, but it attracted other artists to the gospel of impressionism. In 1901 Roberts went overseas, where he exhibited at the Academy, the Salon, etc. He returned to Australia in 1923.
Tom Roberts is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1966 of 728, of which 505 (69%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $976,000 for Miss Minna Simpson (1886) sold by Sotheby's in May 2014. This year 3 works have been offered for sale. Works by Tom Roberts are held by the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and a further nine major public national galleries (see list below).
Tom Roberts is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 829
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 360
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
No, ineligible. The artist has been deceased for more than 70 years.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
Access to the database is available on either a monthly or annual subscription. During the subscription period you have unlimited access to the site. If you would like to subscribe, please proceed to our Subscription Form.