Meldrum, Max (1875-1955), was a controversial Australian painter and teacher. He strongly believed that painting was a science and not an art. For Meldrum, pictures objectively painted in accurate tones dispensed with the need for imagination. He taught that inspiration had no place in art. He vigorously opposed trends in modern art, especially any emphasis on color and personal expression. Meldrum had a powerful personality that attracted many followers in the Australian art community, and he was a major influence on Australian painting during the 1920’s and 1930’s. His own work was influenced by such Old Masters as the Dutch artist Rembrandt and especially the Spanish painter Diego Velazquez as well as later Realist painters, such as Camille Corot of France.
Duncan Max Meldrum was born on Dec. 3, 1875, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and immigrated to Melbourne in 1889. After studying at the Melbourne National Gallery School, Meldrum won a scholarship that allowed him to live in France from 1899 to 1911, when he returned to Melbourne. In 1916, he founded the Meldrum School of Painting. He was president of the Victorian Artists’ Society in 1916 and 1917 and was an original member of the Australian Art Association in 1912. Meldrum died on June 6, 1955.
