The Storm, which won the first Wynne Prize in 1896

Walter Herbert Withers (October 22, 1854 - October 13, 1914) was an Australian landscape artist and a member of the Heidelberg School of Australian impressionists. Wynne Prize, Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize Events 202 BC - Hannibal Barca, leader of the Carthaginians, is defeated by the Roman legions under Scipio Africanus Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Events 54 - Nero ascends to the Roman throne 409 - Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century Impressionism was a 19th-century Art movement that began as a loose association of Paris -based Artists exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s

Withers was born at Handsworth, Staffordshire, the son of Edwin Withers. Handsworth ( is an inner city suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. He showed an early desire to paint, but objection was made to this by his father. It is not known what occupation he followed in England, but in 1882 he arrived in Australia with the intention of going on the land. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. After working for about 18 months on a farm, Withers removed to Melbourne and obtained a position as draughtsman in a firm of printers. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 He then took up his painting again, and began to exhibit with the Victorian Academy of Arts afterwards merged in the Victorian Artists' Society. In 1887 Withers went to Europe. There he was married to Miss F. Flinn and studied for some months at the Académie Julian, Paris. The Académie Julian was an Art school in Paris, France. Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage He returned to Australia with his wife in June 1888 having been commissioned to do black and white work for Messrs Fergusson and Mitchell of Melbourne. His most important work in this way will be found in the illustrations to Edmund Finn's, The Chronicles of Early Melbourne. Edmund 'Garryowen' Finn ( 13 January 1819 – 4 April 1898) was an Australian journalist and author who wrote many colorful descriptions

Withers settled down at first at Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, and then near Heidelberg on the other side of the river Yarra. Kew is a Suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. He became friendly with Arthur Streeton, Charles Conder, Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and other leading artists of the period. Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 &ndash 1 September 1943 was an Australian landscape painter Charles Edward Conder ( 24 October, 1868  – 9 February, 1909) was an English -born painter, who emigrated to Australia Thomas William Roberts ( 9 March 1856 &ndash 14 September 1931) usually known simply as Tom was a famous Australian artist and a key Frederick McCubbin ( 25 February, 1855 – 20 December, 1917) was an Australian painter who was prominent in the famous He began to sell a few pictures, but the collapse of the land boom put an end to his illustrative work. He obtained some work as a drawing and painting master in schools, and in 1891 opened a studio in Collins-street west, where he held his first private exhibition. In 1894 his masterpiece, "Tranquil Winter", was exhibited at the Victorian Artists' Society exhibition and bought by the trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria. The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne Australia. He settled down to a steady career of painting not at first selling largely. In 1897 he was awarded the first Wynne art prize at Sydney for his picture, "The Storm", which was in the same year purchased for the National Gallery of New South Wales. He had been elected a member of the council of the Victorian Artists' Society in 1889, and in 1905 held the office of president for a year. His health was not good towards the end of his life but he continued to do a large amount of painting both in oil and in water-colours. He died on 13 October 1914 and was survived by his wife and four children.

References

• Serle, Percival (1949). "Withers, Walter Herbert". Dictionary of Australian Biography. The Dictionary of Australian Biography, published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Sydney: Angus and Robertson.