david coombe history
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PROJECT
Samuel Thomas Gill (1818 - 1880), colonial artist, with a focus on the South Australian years and
covering his life and work from his arrival in South Australia at the end of 1839
up to his early time at the Victorian gold rush in 1852-1853.
A project of original research presented in online formats.
Samuel Thomas Gill is arguably Australia's most recognisable colonial artist. To his contemporaries, he was widely known by his initials, S.T.G.
This extensive original research focuses on Gill's life and work from his arrival in South Australia at the end of 1839 up to his early time at the Victorian gold rush in 1852-1853. I substantially completed this scope in February 2026. However I continue to explore some aspects of Gill's life and work beyond the original scope to 1853.
There are several reasons for having undertaken this project, not the least being challenges of dating, timeline, narrative and biography. Read more about the S. T. Gill Project – how it started, how it's going, rationale, scope, approach, method, content, how to access content and acknowledgements.
I post updates in my #S_T_Gill tagged posts on Mastodon.
The main part of this project is an historical reference work, a select catalogue of Gill's works in the period in scope. The catalogue includes context for and detailed descriptions of the artworks.
The project also contains a narrative stream, which gives context to Gill's life and work.
For a complete list of some 80 articles (web pages) for the S T Gill project in order they were published, see: List of Articles. Or scroll down to just see some of the most recent articles added to the project.
For other ways into the project content, as well as links to help and online availability (system services) see: indexes, tables of contents, maps, references, artist signatures and other lists.
The place dimension can be accessed from catalogue, narrative and index of mapped works, as well as from S.T. Gill in Maps.
You can also find further related material on 1840s South Australia (including interactive maps) as a side project.
Feedback is welcome.
There will be some broken links – please let me know. There will also be errors – a project of this size makes that a sure thing. I welcome corrections, as well as your correspondence if you want to engage with my analysis or conclusions. I especially welcome questions from those using Gill's work to illustrate history.
My motivation is to contribute to knowledge commons and the public good – hence the near exclusive focus on works held by public collecting institutions. As a general rule I don't appraise works that are in private hands or are for sale.
The most recent articles are listed below. Each is labelled according to style: Narrative / Catalogue / Analysis / Map (and combinations of these).
Or for a complete list of some 80 articles in order they were published, see: List of Articles.
The Chair and The Vice are a pair of satirical prints. Carafes of wine are involved. The Vice looks the worse for wear. The prints are a puzzle. They are re-lithographed copies of 1841 English prints, signed not on the stone but on the prints. Were they Gill, Macartney and Galbraith experimenting in tinted lithography?
ANALYSIS | June 2026
S.T. Gill - Signatures and Dating
S. T. Gill's signatures (and dating) were analysed by Appleyard (1986). I revisit this topic with outcomes from this project in dating, fakes and signatures.
OVERVIEW & ANALYSIS | February 2026
S.T. Gill as artist for George French Angas
Overview. This project attributes to S. T. Gill works which have previously been attributed to George French Angas. This article examines Gill's work for and relationship with Angas, 1844 to 1852. See Gill for best Angas!
OVERVIEW & REFLECTION | February 2026
This project contains several articles on S.T. Gill at the Victorian diggings and his works of 1852 and 1853. This page lists the articles in chronological order.
CONTENTS | January 2026
S.T. Gill to Victoria and the Diggings, 1852
S.T. Gill left South Australia for the Victorian gold rush. This article evaluates evidence for his passage and concludes he likely left with others of a cultural bent aboard 'Anna Dixon', February 1852.
NARRATIVE, ANALYSIS | January 2026
S.T. Gill was at the Diggings in June and July 1852, judging by dated works and a newspaper report. He sought a lithographic partnership. There may be only one field sketch extant.
CATALOGUE, NARRATIVE, ANALYSIS | January 2026
S.T. Gill - Victoria Gold Diggings and Diggers 1852
Gill returned to Melbourne completing two series of 24 monochrome diggings lithographs in August and October 1852. George French Angas visits! Two large watercolours of Forest Creek and Bendigo; large coloured lithograph of Forest Creek, March 1853.
CATALOGUE, NARRATIVE | January 2026
Diggers on way to Bendigo was a frequent subject of Gill's showing diggers on the road. It represents diggers moving from one diggings (Forest Creek) to better prospects at another (Bendigo).
SUBJECT | January 2026
S.T. Gill - Diggings and Diggers 1852 - Preparatory Sketches
Gill made preparatory sketches in only a small sketch book for each lithograph in his 'Sketches of the Victoria Diggings and Diggers as they are'. He scaled these to then draw on the stone.
NARRATIVE, ANALYSIS | January 2026
Gill's 'Sketches of the Victoria Diggings and Diggers as they are' were published as lithographs by Macartney and Galbraith in 1852 in two parts. Part 1 was published in August 1852.
NARRATIVE, ANALYSIS | January 2026
The weight of evidence is against Angas' presence at the Victorian diggings. He visited Gill in Melbourne in August 1852 and again used Gill's pictures for his own publication. This further cements the role of Gill as a ghost artist for Angas.
CATALOGUE, NARRATIVE, ANALYSIS | January 2026
Gill's 'Sketches of the Victoria Diggings and Diggers as they are' were published as lithographs by Macartney and Galbraith in 1852 in two parts. Part 2 was published in October 1852.
CATALOGUE | January 2026
Works by S.T. Gill in the period 1839 to 1844, not included elsewhere in the catalogue.
CATALOGUE, ANALYSIS | December 2025
S T Gill's life and times in South Australia, 1839 to 1842. A narrative, with familial, economic and art scene context for Gill's early years. Highlighting Gill's clients and connections such as John Horrocks, Governor Gawler and posted army officers.
NARRATIVE | December 2025
S. T. Gill - his life and times in South Australia, 1843 to 1844. The James Allen connection. The coming of copper and George French Angas.
NARRATIVE | December 2025
S.T. Gill - Scott Fakes and Adelaide Signatures
Several 'Gill' watercolours surfaced in the 1890s with connections to amateur artist Margaret Cochrane Scott nee Little and daughter journalist Winnifred 'Magpie' Scott. Two were fake. These and others had the uncommon 'STG Adelaide' signatures.
ANALYSIS | October 2025
H.C. Jervis Engravings | 1841/1842
H. C. Jervis made engravings in Adelaide of landmark buildings in 1841-1842. Initials "C.W.C" on them became an authorship red herring. More likely they're based on originals by S. T. Gill. There are links too with the 1842 Kingston map.
CATALOGUE, ANALYSIS | August 2025
David Coombe, 2021-2026. Updated 13 July 2026. | text copyright (except where indicated)
CITE THIS: David Coombe, 2021-2026, Samuel Thomas (S.T.) Gill (1818-1880), colonial artist, accessed dd mmm yyyy, <https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/>