National Gallery of Victoria Art School

Williams attended the National Gallery of Victoria Art School for his initial training at age 16. The Gallery School took a traditional, academic approach to art, training students in the formal disciplines of painting.

    
 

Self Portrait 1943

  

oil on canvas 65.0 x 43.0 cm

    
      This portrait, begun when he was 15, demonstrates Williams' early technical confidence, but reveals the artist's strangely dispassionate approach to portraiture. Williams consistently painted figures without sentimentalising them; even when he treated his painting subjects conventionally, his portraiture remained emotionally indifferent and he did not delve into the psychological make-up of his sitters.    
 

Reclining Nude 1947-1948

  

oil on canvas 61.5 x 91.0 cm

    
      Fred Williams retained his academic roots throughout his painting career, consistently privileging compositional balance in his work. However, even when he conformed to the requirements of the National Gallery School, he still maintained his own artistic stamp, refusing to 'polish' his works but working in thick viscous layers of paint applied vigorously to the canvas. Amongst his influences during this period were works from the late 19th century, the landscape tradition of the Heidelberg school, and such artists as Hugh Ramsay, Rupert Bunny and Fred McCubbin.    
   

1946-1949
George Bell's School: Introduction to Modernism At George Bell's private art school, Williams was introduced to both a more progressive approach to painting, and to the work of the Impressionists. Formative influences included the work of the Cubists (Cezanne and, later on, the more painterly Braques), Matisse (as a colourist), and the painter and print-maker, Daumier. These influences can be seen in Williams' early figurative work - in particular in his broad handling of paint and use of colour - but were not to compromise the solid construction of tone and form which remained a marker of his work at this time.

    
 

Resting Figure Lilydale 1950

  

oil on canvas 45.2 x 45.0 cm

    
      Here we see a strong relationship between figure and landscape; forms are simplified, brushstrokes are energetic - the overall effect is far different from that of works produced at either the National Gallery school or at George Bell's studio - yet despite William's continued practice of working en plein air, he does not yet show himself at ease with this new subject matter; it was to take time and experimentation before the distinctive Williams landscapes were arrived at.    
             

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