Cabinet

The international arts and crafts movement of the late nineteenth century transformed art education in Australia. Arts and crafts societies were established across the country and in 1882 the movement found a home in South Australia with the state-run, School of Design, first under Harry P. Hill (1855–1916) and later  L.H. Howie (1876–1963). Both had trained as art teachers at the Royal College ofArt, South Kensington, and had gone on to develop a rigorous syllabus at the School of Design, based on traditional handmade techniques. Students could learn woodcarving, repoussé, metalwork, jewellery-making, china-painting, pottery and embroidery, as well as composition and geometry.

Woodcarving was a feature of the school’s output and this cabinet, attributed to Howie, is a superb example of the type of work produced by the school in the early nineteenth century. Made of walnut, it features carved scrolling motifs, which complement the refined, simple form of the cabinet. Howie was also an accomplished china painter, with two works – featuring waratahs and eucalyptus leaves – acquired in 1910 by Richard Thomas Baker, Curator of the Technological Museum (now The Powerhouse), Sydney.

Rebecca Evans, Curator of Decorative Arts & Design