Heidelberg School was a group of painters who worked on the tree-covered hills overlooking the Yarra River in what is now the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg, Australia. The group flourished from 1886 to about 1900, when it broke up. The leader of the group was Tom Roberts (1856-1931), who introduced Impressionism into Australian art. The group adopted the Impressionist style of painting outdoors rather than in a studio and emphasized local subject matter. Other important members of the group included Frederick McCubbin (1855-1917), Charles Conder (1868-1909), Sir Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Streeton (1867-1943), and, later, Walter Withers (1854-1914).
The group first met in painting camps. In 1888, Roberts, Conder, and Streeton moved into an abandoned farmhouse at Eaglemont, near Heidelberg. The farmhouse became a center for many young Australian artists. The Heidelberg School’s emphasis on Australian life and landscape dominated the country’s painting in the early 1900’s and greatly influenced other Australian artists throughout much of the 1900’s.
