This study aimed to uncover information about an area on which
little published material is available, that is, the area of art
education in New South Wales prior to 1940. Because of the lack of
published material, much of the information used in this study had
to be sought in annual reports on education made to the New South
Wales Parliament over the years concerned, and in the educational
journals of the period. Some very useful original documents and
letters were found in the Mitchell Library and in the New South Wales
Archives.
It was established that drawing first became part of the curriculum
in a few public schools in Sydney in 1854, and that by 1869,
drawing was taught in all the primary schools of New South Wales.
The drawing system which was introduced was based on the very
structured and utilitarian programme of the Department of Science
and Art in South Kensington.
The first Drawing Master in New South Wales was Joseph Fowles,
who had arrived in Sydney from England in 1838. Joseph Fowles was in
charge of drawing in the public schools of New South Wales from his
appointment in 1854 until his death in 1878.
The other two important figures in art education over the period
covered by this study were Frederick W. Woodhouse, who was Superintendent
of Drawing from his arrival from England in 1889 until his resignation in
1903, and John E. Branch, who was in charge from 1903 until his death
in 1933.
This study found evidence that the Department of Science and Art
in South Kensington played an essential part in establishing the
programme of art education in New South Wales from the 1850s until well
into the twentieth century.
With regard to the contribution made by the three individuals
mentioned in the title, the study found that while they played an
important role in overseeing the teaching of drawing in the schools,
they were not influential in the sense of being able to impose any
individual philosophy of art education on the system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219008 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Hilson, Muriel M. L., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Muriel M. L. Hilson |
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