Lambert, George Washington (1873-1930), was one of the foremost Australian artists of the early 1900’s. His early works reflected his interest in scenes of bush life. For example, Across the Black Soil Plains (1899) portrays a magnificent team of toiling Clydesdale horses. This painting earned him the Wynne Prize in 1900. The Art Gallery of New South Wales awards the Wynne Prize annually to the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or the best example of figure sculpture by an Australian artist. From 1902 to 1921, Lambert lived in England, where he concentrated on portrait painting. He returned to Australia in 1921, settling in Sydney. He continued to paint portraits as well as human figures, and late in his career he turned to sculpture.
Lambert was born on Sept. 13, 1873, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the son of American parents. His father was an engineer who died three months before Lambert was born. In 1887, his mother settled in Australia. Lambert became the most famous student of Julian Ashton, who ran the Sydney Art School, the best-known art school in Australia from 1900 to 1940. In 1925, Lambert and a former pupil, painter Thea Proctor, founded the Contemporary Group in Sydney, an association of Australian artists dedicated to encourage the appreciation of modern art in the country. He died on May 28, 1930. Lambert’s two sons were the composer Constant Lambert and the sculptor Maurice Lambert.
