Brought to Light Australian Art 1850-1965

The Australian ventures of Harriet Jane's brothers Charles and Arthur are well documented in the Rolfe Family Records-, there are few references to her visit. The years the men spent in Australia (as sons of a large landed family) were partly regarded as tests of manhood — these experiences, according to the family memoirs, 'made' them. Visits by various relatives were funded by the family coffers with the express purpose of mitigating the lonely sojourn of the boys .16 We know, from the family manuscript, that conditions in Australia were difficult. The environment was tough, the work hard, the financial viability of the endeavour sometimes uncertain. But Harriet Jane Neville-Rolfe's paintings, prescribed by tasteful convention, do not hint at hardship. She seems to be having a good time, in the best tradition of the stiff upper lip. While much of the work produced by women artists (amateur or otherwise) during the colonial era has been neglected or lost, surviving material, including sketch-books, diaries and paintings, was often treasured as family heirlooms. In this way Neville-Rolfe's large body of work, preserved by generations of her English family, found its way into the Collection of the Queensland Art Gallery where it is valued for the talent it demonstrates, for the historical 'perception' it helps to construct, and for the tantalising glimpses offered of a dynamic and thoughtful young woman .17 Susan Herbert is Head of Access, Education and Regional Services at the Queensland Art Gallery. ■ nW ^' Harriet Jane Neville-Rolfe Thursday Island 1883 Watercolour over pencil on wove paper 13x21.2cm Gift of the artist's son in her memory 1964 Queensland Art Gallery Harriet Jane Neville-Rolfe Houses of Parliament, Brisbane 1885 Watercolour over pencil on wove paper 17.6 X 25.3cm Gift of the artist's son in her memory 1964 Queensland Art Gallery 2 W .■V YvX" 'HI SKETCHES THE SCENE' 51