Sarjeant Happenings: Sarjeant portrait part of Australia-wide tour

Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo (1870-1955) is painted by the New Zealand artist, his pupil Frances Ellis. Photo / Supplied

A portrait from the Sarjeant Collection is currently in Sydney as part of a touring exhibition that celebrates 100 years of Australia's most famous portrait prize - the Archibald.

The portrait of Italian émigré artist and teacher Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo (1870–1955) was painted by the New Zealand artist, his pupil Frances Ellis. When it is at home in the Sarjeant Collection store it normally hangs next to its 'companion' – the portrait of Frances Ellis painted by Dattilo-Rubbo.

Ellis attended Dattilo-Rubbo's art classes in Sydney from 1934, and in 1939 became principal of his art school, a position she held until 1949. Dattilo-Rubbo opened the school in 1898 and was much loved by his pupils who described him as "brilliant", "inspiring" and "a colossal teacher of drawing," wrote assistant curator Jessica Kidd, in the Whanganui Chronicle, April 22, 2015.

Ellis was influenced by the post-impressionist teachings of Dattilo-Rubbo and the cubist painting style of Paul Cezanne. A testament to the artist's skill is that three of her works were exhibited in the Archibald Prize between 1942 – 1948. The Sarjeant's painting by Ellis is called Portrait of Cav. A. Dattilo-Rubbo and was a runner-up in the 1942 Archibald Prize.

Dattilo-Rubbo was most impressed by his pupil's portrait writing, "you have achieved the best by a good composition, supported by strong drawing, virile colour and excellent touch. It is a well-balanced work, and I heartily congratulate you with my good wishes to see the painting hanged in a worthy art gallery – if possible, in your native land."

The 'Archie 100' exhibition celebrates 100 years of what has been dubbed Australia's oldest and most loved portrait award, and will tour nine venues across Australia over the next two and half years.

Arranged thematically, more than 100 artworks have been selected from every decade. The selection "unearths stories" and "reflects not just how artistic styles and approaches to portraiture have changed over time but, importantly, the changing face of a nation".

'Archie 100' opened in June at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney and will close at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra in January 2024. A publication that accompanies the exhibition includes Frances Ellis' Portrait of Cav. A. Dattilo-Rubbo on a double-page spread.

Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo in 1907. Photo / Supplied

"It is fantastic to have one of our paintings included in the Australia-wide tour of 'Archie 100'," said curator of collections Jennifer Taylor-Moore.

"This portrait is particularly poignant as an homage to Ellis's teacher and mentor Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, who was based in Sydney at the time. After exhibition in the 1942 Archibald Prize exhibition, the portrait went to Naples in Italy and was exhibited there in 1952.

"Following Rubbo's death in 1955, Ellis gifted the portrait to the Sarjeant Gallery, as a mark of respect for her teacher and in accordance with his written wishes."

The Sarjeant Gallery mounted a retrospective exhibition of Ellis's work in 1989 with an accompanying catalogue.

The Sarjeant Collection holds nine works by Rubbo, and 14 by Ellis.

During the Sarjeant's move to Taupo Quay, 2014-2015, Kidd wrote that viewing the two portraits side-by-side, "you can see not only the influence of a great teacher but the evolution of painting, in a time where a more traditional academic painting style of the older Dattilo-Rubbo was being challenged by an experimental Modernist sensibility focusing on light and colour in Ellis' portrait".

When Ellis' portrait of Dattilo-Rubbo returns from its Australian tour in 2024, the two portraits will most likely be hung together again, "safely stored in the Sarjeant's new collection store where they may carry on their conversation for many more years to come."