Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- character_and_art [2017/11/17 14:26] – [Colonial Masculinity] judith
+++ character_and_art [2018/05/25 22:24] (current) – [Art] judith
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-====== Character and Art ======
+====== Character, Possessions and Actions ======
-TLM-P's actions and writings reveal much about his character, and this section is just some additional titbits.
+TLM-P's actions, possessions as well as his writings reveal much about his character, and this section is just some additional titbits.
 ==== Character ====
-TLM-P's son Robert, who was 11 when his father died, described him as being 'justly renowned for his courtly bearing and usage of words. He was veritably an aristocratic statesmen of old and could smile through the harshest of Parliamentary insults' The only thing that cause him to lose his temper was any insult to Queen Victoria or towards 'Monarchy as a phenomenon', on the apparent grounds that the Queen was 'his distant cousin'.((Robert M-P, The Blood royal of the Murray-Priors, 1901-05, p. 14.)) This view of TLM-P has been accepted unquestioningly by other writers, perhaps most influentially by the //Australian Dictionary of Biography//. Certainly if he adopted an overly courtly bearing, it fits in with Rachel Henning's perception of him in 1863 as 'I suppose it does not require any great talent to be a Postmaster General. I hope not, for such a goose I have seldom seen. He talked incessantly and all his conversation consisted of pointless stories of which he himself was the hero.'((H. J. Gibbney, 'Murray-Prior, Thomas Lodge (1819–1892)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murray-prior-thomas-lodge-4282/text6927, published first in hardcopy 1974, accessed online 15 October 2017.)) Yet TLM-P's diary for 6 October 1863 suggests a more pertinent reason: he described the Henning's house as 'a comfortable humpy' and dismissed Rachel and her sister with the slighting comment that 'Mr Henning ... has unmarried sisters living with him, somewhat passed their first youth'. It should be noted too, that TLM-P may not have been at his best: he stayed with the Hennings while on a tour of inspection that would leave most people exhausted: during 54 days inspecting postal services, he rode 1,017 miles (1,636 km) as well as travelling by sea. Additionally, if TLM-P was such an ardent monarchist it did not stop him marrying Nora Barton who blithely wrote to his elder daughter that of course she thought Australia should become a republic, though she did not expect it until the next generation!((reference))\\
+TLM-P's son Robert, who was only 11 when his father died, described him as being 'justly renowned for his courtly bearing and usage of words. He was veritably an aristocratic statesmen of old and could smile through the harshest of Parliamentary insults' The only thing that cause him to lose his temper was any insult to Queen Victoria or towards 'Monarchy as a phenomenon', on the apparent grounds that the Queen was 'his distant cousin'.((Robert M-P, //The Blood royal of the Murray-Priors, 1901-05//, p. 14.)) This view of TLM-P has been accepted unquestioningly by other writers, perhaps most influentially by the //Australian Dictionary of Biography//. Certainly if he adopted an overly courtly bearing, it fits in with Rachel Henning's perception of him in 1863 as 'I suppose it does not require any great talent to be a Postmaster General. I hope not, for such a goose I have seldom seen. He talked incessantly and all his conversation consisted of pointless stories of which he himself was the hero.'((H. J. Gibbney, 'Murray-Prior, Thomas Lodge (1819–1892)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murray-prior-thomas-lodge-4282/text6927, published first in hardcopy 1974, accessed online 15 October 2017.)) Yet TLM-P's diary for 6 October 1863 suggests a more pertinent reason: he described the Henning's house as 'a comfortable humpy' and dismissed Rachel and her sister with the slighting comment that 'Mr Henning ... has unmarried sisters living with him, somewhat passed their first youth'. It should be noted too, that TLM-P may not have been at his best: he stayed with the Hennings while on a tour of inspection that would leave most people exhausted: during 54 days inspecting postal services, he rode 1,017 miles (1,636 km) as well as travelling by sea. Additionally, if TLM-P was such an ardent monarchist it did not stop him marrying Nora Barton who blithely wrote to his elder daughter that of course she thought Australia should become a republic, though she did not expect it until the next generation!((reference))\\
+TLM-P's conflict with Elise Barney of the Brisbane Post office has made him somewhat of a feminist anti-hero, but his second marriage, his will, and his support for Rosa Praed's writing career does not support the view of him as a general oppressor of women. In his will, he made it clear that his bequests to his wife and daughters were all 'for her separate and inalienable use ... free from marital control or engagements'. While trustees still controlled his second wife's money, he did appoint her relatives to act in her interest and furthermore gave her the right of choice between continuing with her marriage settlement, or accepting 10,000 pounds (roughly equivalent to $1,381,632 in 2015 values) instead.(( TLM-P, Last will and testament; Thom Blake, how much is it worth? http://www.thomblake.com.au/secondary/hisdata/calculate.php))
 \\
-{{:tlm-p_melbourne.jpg?300|}} {{:tlm-p_head.jpg?300|}}{{:tlm-p_sydney.jpg?300|}} These photos from TLM-P's album were, respectively, taken in Melbourne and Sydney. The images are designed to reveal a prosperous man who has succeeded in his adopted land.
+{{:tlm-p_melbourne.jpg?300|}} {{:tlm-p_head.jpg?300|}}{{:tlm-p_sydney.jpg?300|}} These photos from TLM-P's album were, respectively, taken in Melbourne and Sydney.(( Provenance: From TLM-P to his wife Nora, then to son Robert or daughters Dorothy and Ruth, then to E.S.M-P, then to J. Godden)).  The images are designed to reveal a prosperous man who has succeeded in his adopted land.
 This image of TLM-P is c. 1859((National Archives of Australia, J2364, 1859/3)) {{:tlm-p_pmg_nat_archives_enhanced.jpg?300|}}\\
-==== Art ====
-Though TLM-P was clear that his father's love of buying fine art left his mother battling to provide for the family, he shared his father's love of art. The Brisbane Art Gallery refers to the paintings he left the gallery in his will: 'The European collection was established with a bequest of 17th century Dutch paintings to the state of Queensland in 1892 by pastoralist and legislative councillor Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior.'(({{https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/learn/collection/international}}))\\ **GET PHOTOS OF PAINTINGS DONATED FROM THERESE**
-==== Furniture ====
-It is in keeping with his father's tastes and also TLM-P's determination to restore his family's gentry status, that he appreciated beautiful furniture. The next photo is of his intricately carved Indian cabinet, the twin of which is in Brisbane's Tattersalls Club. As usual with such furniture, it neatly comes into sections:
+==== Furniture and other possessions====
+It is in keeping with his father's tastes and also TLM-P's determination to restore his family's gentry status, that he appreciated beautiful furniture. The next photo is of his intricately carved Indian cabinet((Provenance: Tom A. M-P)), the twin of which is in Brisbane's Tattersalls Club. As usual with such furniture, it neatly comes into sections:
 {{:mp30.jpg?300|}}\\
-This Chest with mirror belonged to Thomas B. and Lizzie M-P, again photo courtesy Tom & Therese M-P{{:mp29.jpg?300|}}\\
+Chest with mirror.((TLM-P through to Thomas B. and Lizzie M-P, then Tom A. & Therese M-P)){{:mp29.jpg?300|}}\\
-The family has numerous examples of {{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toona_ciliata|Australian red cedar}} furniture which has been passed on through the generations from TLM-P and his family. This elegant table with chairs is one example, photo courtesy Tom & Therese:
+The family has numerous examples of {{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toona_ciliata|Australian red cedar}} furniture which has been passed on through the generations from TLM-P and his family. This elegant table with chairs is one example.((Provenance: Tom A. & Therese M-P))
 {{:mp11.jpg?400|}}\\
+{{:mp19.jpg?300|}} A very different watch, made in France[check?], and thought to have belonged to TLM-P.((Provenance: Tom A. & Therese M-P.\\
+{{:mp21.jpg?300|}} TLM-P, once he had his family's entitlement to arms cleared (see [[changed_coat_of_arms|The Prior and Murray-Prior coat of arms]]), had his silver enscribed. This plate is an example.((Provenance: Tom A. & Therese M-P.))
 ==== Colonial Masculinity ====