Watercolour by Harry Pelling Gill, Director of technical art, South Australian School of Art, 1889-1914

H P Gill emigrated to South Australia in 1882 to take up the position of master of the School of Design at the South Australian Institute. He arranged elementary and advanced classes, the training of art teachers and correspondence art classes. In 1889 he became director of technical art and in 1892 he assumed responsibility for all art teaching. In that year he also became an honorary curator of the South Australian Art Gallery.

In this position he advised on the purchase of contemporary European art as well as the collecting of the work of up and coming Australian artists such as Tom Roberts, Hans Heysen and Frederick McCubbin. His teaching and administrative duties left him little time to practice his own art, but what he did achieve showed a fascination with the portrayal of light.

Following an enquiry into the running of the School of Design, the teaching of art in South Australia was transferred to the Department of Education. Gill became the first Principal of the new Adelaide School of Arts and Crafts (later the South Australian School of Arts), but stepped down from the curatorship at the art gallery.

A portrait by one of his students, Millicent Hambidge, is held by the Art Gallery of South Australia. The SA School of Arts presents the Harry P Gill Medal to the student with the highest grade point average in design.

Permission to use this item for any purpose, including publishing, is not required from the State Library under these conditions of use.

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