Related Artist

Rupert Bunny (1864–1947)

How Rupert Bunny connects to Ambrose Patterson, and where to read and see more.

Rupert Bunny (1864–1947) was one of the most successful Australian expatriate artists of his generation, spending nearly 50 years in France. He is celebrated for sumptuous Belle Époque paintings of Parisian leisure, mythological scenes, and later landscapes, achieving significant recognition in the French Salon system.

Connection to Ambrose Patterson

Bunny was part of the wider generation of Australian expatriate painters — Patterson among them — who left Melbourne for Paris around the turn of the century and built careers exhibiting in the French Salon system. The two moved in overlapping circles of Australian artists living and showing work in Paris during the Belle Époque, before Patterson's own path continued on to Hawaii and Seattle.

Biography & Background

Rupert Charles Bunny — Australian Dictionary of Biography

A comprehensive biographical entry on Bunny's early life in Melbourne, his career in Paris, and his return to Australia.

Rupert Bunny — Wikipedia

An overview of Bunny's life, education, and success at the Paris Salon, covering his transition from neoclassical and symbolist work to later landscapes.

A self-portrait and several of his most famous paintings.

Galleries & Museums

Rupert BUNNY — Collection Online | NGV

The NGV's substantial Bunny collection, including his 'Madame Melba' portrait and numerous sketches.

Over 80 artworks including major paintings and preparatory sketches.
Rupert Bunny — National Gallery of Australia

The NGA's collection of more than 100 works by Bunny, from early botanical garden landscapes to late mythological paintings.

Images of key works like 'Qui vient? [Who comes?]'.

Image Sources

Rupert Bunny — 59 artworks — WikiArt.org

A visual database of Bunny's paintings organized chronologically and by style, spanning his Belle Époque and mythological works.

Dozens of images filterable by date and genre.
Rupert Bunny Artworks at Auction — MutualArt

An archive of over 400 artworks by Bunny that have appeared at auction, spanning landscapes, portraits, and sketches in private collections.

Hundreds of images from auction records.

Influences & Related

Rupert Bunny's Mythologies — National Gallery of Australia

An essay on Bunny's fascination with classical and Christian mythology, and how he assimilated Symbolism and Puvis de Chavannes into his own allegorical style.

Further Reading

The life and art of Rupert Bunny: a catalogue raisonné in two volumes

David Thomas's definitive 2017 two-volume catalogue raisonné, covering Bunny's oils, monotypes, sketchbooks, and exhibition history.

Rupert Bunny, 1864–1947 — David Thomas

The original 1970 monograph on Bunny, a foundational text for studying his life and early critical reception.

News & Press

The Cosmopolitans: In Gallery Two — National Portrait Gallery

A 2023–2024 exhibition featuring Bunny alongside his contemporaries, highlighting the generation of Australian artists who traveled to London and Paris around 1900.

Installation views and selected portraits from the exhibition.
Rupert Bunny Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship — City of Port Phillip

A contemporary visual arts fellowship established in 2005 using funds from the insurance of a destroyed Rupert Bunny painting.

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