Rohan Reynders

Mackie reports here that Robert Camm studied at the NGV art school under J.H.Scheltema. She then does NOT list J.H.Scheltema as an 'artist of Kew', although he lived there for some years, indeed is registered as a past house owner there. Scheltema taught Camm for many years in his art classes at his own studio. The older Camm had studied also two years at the NGV course, but Scheltema did not ever teach there. This is part of the widespread confusion indeed misunderstanding, or worse, about Scheltema by a number of art writers, during his life and afterwards. But not all.

This was published a log time ago in 1993 when art reference books were known to be fiction. Example the entry on "Scheltema, Jan Hendrik, provides he died in 1938"; wronghe died in 1941. that "he studied in Brussels"; wrong he studied in The Hague and Antwerp. that "he returned from Belgium to Gouda" where he painted portraits", wrong he stayed in Antwerp to 1888, where he painted also portraits. That he specialized in Horse and cattle paintings in Australia. Well, when did he go to Australia and for how long??? No shown. That he' collaborated with John Mather'. He did not. "Many of his works were monochrome". That is not so!, they were all in color, as he was a famous colorist, except of course in black crayon and pencil studies."The monochrome paintings gave rise to "unsubstantiated speculation that he was color blind" Why was put in that in if they are unsubstantiated allegations??? That is ridiculous. the publisher should publish a public apology for this abomination and probably for many others. Indeed he was not color blind. " He exhibited 100 landscape paintings of England, Scotland and Australia at VAS in 1911." Wrong again, he exhibited 88 such paintings in a personal one-men-show exhibition in Melbourne, but not at the Vic. Artists Society exhib. And sold 72 of them without an auction. Someone's 13 year old was given this to research, I'd say. What a dump of a book! Badly researched largely made up, is my view! But the information was accepted by many writers, also dumb! We'l mention those somewhere else.