The Master Painter Australia - April 2016 Vol. 1 | Page 8

THE MASTER PAINTER AUSTRALIA

008

M A S T E R PA I N T E R S A U S T R A L I A

100 Years
in the Making
The history of painting is one that spans centuries, dating
back as far as 30,000 BC. Each painting style and technique
grows out of the styles that came before it. Every great
artist adds to the accomplishments of earlier painters. And
many events throughout history influence and shape the
painting industry, from the development of new materials
through to the establishment of professional associations,
like Master Painters.

Painting Throughout History
Since before the beginning of historic records, men have used
paint for decoration and protection purposes.
Cave dwellers are the earliest known artists. Coloured
drawings of animals and people, dating from about 30,000 to
10,000 BC, have been found on the walls of caves in southern
France and in Spain. The Egyptians and Mesopotamian
civilisations carried on with the tradition of painting, regularly
recording religious and real-life scenes on the walls of tombs
and pyramids. The ancient Greeks and Romans were the first
to bring painting into the home, with numerous wall murals
and hand-painted pottery still surviving to this day.
It can be shown that ‘saving the surface’ is not a
comparatively modern idea. The work of painters for the first
few centuries of the Middle Ages consisted almost entirely of
decorative painting for the knights and nobles, including coats
of arms, saddles, shields and the painting of pictures and
decorations in the palaces. The church was the other major
patron for painters during this time, with frescoes on church
walls and book illustrationsbeing the main jobs of the
Gothic painter.
In 1350, the first recorded apprentice was indentured at
the age of seven years old: a girl named Agnes Stockwell
‘Payntour’ was indentured to Thomas de Bournham ‘Paytour’
by her father. This was the birth of the apprentice painter.
The history of painting throughout the Renaissance and
into modern times is littered with amazing tales and feats of
greatness. From the revolutionary Florentine painter Giotto
(1267-1337) who broke with the Byzantine tradition of painting
to create a much more naturalistic style, Flemish artist Jan van
Eyck (1370-1441) who developed the technique of oil painting,
through to Leonardo da Vinci and Michangelo, who both
created astounding new styles and painting methods.

“painting a brighter future”

Painting in Modern Australia
In 1909, a dispute broke
out within Australia’s
painting industry. The
dispute was so serious
and wide-reaching
that it united both the
union and non-union
workers together for the
betterment of the entire
industry. During the
course of the dispute, the
‘Sydney Trade Union of
Painters’ (who was the
claimant) and the Master
Builders Association
and Stuart Brothers
went to court to decide
a fair work environment
The first President was Mr. B. Grice.
for Australia’s painting
industry. As a result of
the dispute, the award wage for painters within Australia
was developed—the profession of ‘painter’ in Australia was
officially established and protected.
While the award wage for painters was established in
Australia in 1909, the formation of a professional association,
tasked to represent all Australian painters, took slightly longer.
According to the records of Decorator and Painter, in 1908
it appears that the proposal to hold a conference for all
Australian painters was promoted in an editorial piece. In this
editorial, a very successful conference for Coachbuilders and
Wheelwrights was used as an example, with the idea being
that a similar conference for Decorators and Painters would
produce tangible results.
The idea was well received by state-based painting
associations and the idea promoted energetically, but it was
not until 1913, some five years later that the representatives of
the state-based painting associations came together. These
representatives met to discuss a proposed Federal Painting
Award. While some states did not feel that a Federal Painting
Award was a serious threat, they agreed it was an opportune
time to meet with fellow decorators and painters—all states
were unanimous in their opinion to hold the first national
Master Painters conference.