Thomas Jonathan Griffiths

  General Notes:

[1789090.FTW]

Thomas Griffiths III.

Thomas III inherited the Richmond farm property and the family lived there. The township of Richmond at that time would best be described as a sleepy village. It was to this site that a new generation of painters came. In 1886 Julian Ashton had come with A.J Daplyn to paint "Sentry Box Reach, Hawksbury River" .... and Charles Conder to paint "The Road to Kurrajong". In early spring 1888 Conder and Ashton had arrived and began a series of paintings that were to be a watershed in Australian Impressionism. As well, others flocked there including:- Robert Atkinson, Alfred Daplyn, F.P Mahoney, B.E Minns, Albert Fulwood, Giralamo Nerli and others. In many of the works carried out, the models were members of the Griffiths family. Thomas III had a large family with 6 daughters aged from about 23 down to 11 years. It is hard to imagine his feelings with the coming of the artistic set to this quite backwater. A description of Conder by one of his friends from Richmond was "Conder was not a hard worker; he spent most of the time chasing girls around the Haystacks" and further, Julian Ashton wrote "he was never an early riser, which is perhaps to be accounted for by the fact that he was always willing to stay up until any hour at night".

A search of the 1888 Exhibition Catalogue shows these paintings in which the family members were the models, "Feeding the Chickens", "An Early Taste for Literature", "The Farm, Richmond", "Springtime", "All in a Garden Fair", "The Goose Girl", "Tea Time" as well Condor also painted "Cove on the Hawksbury", "A Sketch of Common, Richmond" and "A Golden Meadow on the Hawksbury". Julian Ashton had painted "The Corner of the Paddock", "The Milkmaid" and "A Solitary Ramble", a painting of Thomas's wife (Mary) walking behind Griffiths Farm.

A newspaper report of the day said "Another striking picture is Mr. Robert Atkinson's, "A Delicate Question" (No.120), showing a youth and maid at the end of a cotage verandah, with a hound at the girl's knees, and other cottage-home accessories. The colours are laid on, as it were, with the palette-knife, making the subject stand out vividly to the observer's eye from the furtherest corner of the room. There are light touches of shadow under the leaf of the hats and a happily conceived perspective through the vista formed by the verandah across the far end of which the sunlight breaks brightly past an effect of cool shadow. This is an excellent bit of work, replete with Australian characte, lifelike without being .... as to the figure and telling it's story .... to the eye. Mr. Atkinson's work in the exhibition gives promise of his becoming one of the most valued members of our Art Society". Special mention is made of this painting in a letter dated the 3rd September 1888 from Condor to Mann, "I have just returned from Richmond, where I have been sketching with Fulwood, Mahony and Atkinson (an Englishman just here from New Zealand). We made a fortnight stay up there and Atkinson has done a very good picture of one of the Griffiths girls making love in the usual way, the background being the verandah of the Griffiths house". Despite extensive enquiries the painting has not been able to be traced.

Family legend has it that the Marchese Girolamo Nerli was a great friend of the family. He had come there with the impressionists but also at the behest of Dr. Thomas Fiaschi who had befriended his fellow countryman when he arrived in Sydney. Fiaschi had also established a vineyard in the area at Tizzana in the 1880's. Nerli was to paint a portrait of Abigail Celest Griffiths on mother of pearl shell.

The painters continued to visit the Hawksbury and the Farm. In 1890, Arthur Streeton came and painted "The Old Inn on the Hawksbury", "The Purple Noon's Transparent Might" and "Summer Noon, Hawksbury River". It is recorded that members of the group also continued to paint at the Griffiths Farm. Sydney Long is shown as doing a painting called "Feeding the Chickens" which is almost identical to Conders original painting except from a different perspective and painted in the late 1890's.

The farm house which had originally been built by Jonathon Griffiths burnt down in the early 1900's and the property was sold.[goss1.FTW]

[1789090.FTW]

Thomas Griffiths III.

Thomas III inherited the Richmond farm property and the family lived there. The township of Richmond at that time would best be described as a sleepy village. It was to this site that a new generation of painters came. In 1886 Julian Ashton had come with A.J Daplyn to paint "Sentry Box Reach, Hawksbury River" .... and Charles Conder to paint "The Road to Kurrajong". In early spring 1888 Conder and Ashton had arrived and began a series of paintings that were to be a watershed in Australian Impressionism. As well, others flocked there including:- Robert Atkinson, Alfred Daplyn, F.P Mahoney, B.E Minns, Albert Fulwood, Giralamo Nerli and others. In many of the works carried out, the models were members of the Griffiths family. Thomas III had a large family with 6 daughters aged from about 23 down to 11 years. It is hard to imagine his feelings with the coming of the artistic set to this quite backwater. A description of Conder by one of his friends from Richmond was "Conder was not a hard worker; he spent most of the time chasing girls around the Haystacks" and further, Julian Ashton wrote "he was never an early riser, which is perhaps to be accounted for by the fact that he was always willing to stay up until any hour at night".

A search of the 1888 Exhibition Catalogue shows these paintings in which the family members were the models, "Feeding the Chickens", "An Early Taste for Literature", "The Farm, Richmond", "Springtime", "All in a Garden Fair", "The Goose Girl", "Tea Time" as well Condor also painted "Cove on the Hawksbury", "A Sketch of Common, Richmond" and "A Golden Meadow on the Hawksbury". Julian Ashton had painted "The Corner of the Paddock", "The Milkmaid" and "A Solitary Ramble", a painting of Thomas's wife (Mary) walking behind Griffiths Farm.

A newspaper report of the day said "Another striking picture is Mr. Robert Atkinson's, "A Delicate Question" (No.120), showing a youth and maid at the end of a cotage verandah, with a hound at the girl's knees, and other cottage-home accessories. The colours are laid on, as it were, with the palette-knife, making the subject stand out vividly to the observer's eye from the furtherest corner of the room. There are light touches of shadow under the leaf of the hats and a happily conceived perspective through the vista formed by the verandah across the far end of which the sunlight breaks brightly past an effect of cool shadow. This is an excellent bit of work, replete with Australian characte, lifelike without being .... as to the figure and telling it's story .... to the eye. Mr. Atkinson's work in the exhibition gives promise of his becoming one of the most valued members of our Art Society". Special mention is made of this painting in a letter dated the 3rd September 1888 from Condor to Mann, "I have just returned from Richmond, where I have been sketching with Fulwood, Mahony and Atkinson (an Englishman just here from New Zealand). We made a fortnight stay up there and Atkinson has done a very good picture of one of the Griffiths girls making love in the usual way, the background being the verandah of the Griffiths house". Despite extensive enquiries the painting has not been able to be traced.

Family legend has it that the Marchese Girolamo Nerli was a great friend of the family. He had come there with the impressionists but also at the behest of Dr. Thomas Fiaschi who had befriended his fellow countryman when he arrived in Sydney. Fiaschi had also established a vineyard in the area at Tizzana in the 1880's. Nerli was to paint a portrait of Abigail Celest Griffiths on mother of pearl shell.

The painters continued to visit the Hawksbury and the Farm. In 1890, Arthur Streeton came and painted "The Old Inn on the Hawksbury", "The Purple Noon's Transparent Might" and "Summer Noon, Hawksbury River". It is recorded that members of the group also continued to paint at the Griffiths Farm. Sydney Long is shown as doing a painting called "Feeding the Chickens" which is almost identical to Conders original painting except from a different perspective and painted in the late 1890's.

The farm house which had originally been built by Jonathon Griffiths burnt down in the early 1900's and the property was sold.

Thomas married Mary Ann Cornwell, daughter of John Cornwell and Ann Pateman, on 16 Sep 1863 in Richmond, NSW Australia. (Mary Ann Cornwell was born about 1850 in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire England and died on 3 Jul 1938 in Redfern, Sydney, NSW Australia.)