The Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia by H.R.H. The Duke of Cornwall and York (later H.M. King George V), May 9, 1901, more commonly known in Australia as The Big Picture, is a 1903 painting by the Australian artist Tom Roberts. The painting, measuring , or roughly 10 by 17 feet, depicts the opening of the first Parliament of Australia at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne on 9 May 1901.
The painting is part of the Royal Collection but has been on permanent loan to the Parliament of Australia since 1957. The work, currently on display in Parliament House, Canberra, has been described by Andrew Mackenzie as "...undoubtedly the principal work of art recording Australia's Parliamentary History."
Background
On 31 July 1900, after decades of debates and negotiations, the colonies on the Australian continent formed a federation. While the new Constitution of Australia called for a new capital to be constructed, away from the major cities, Melbourne was chosen to act as the temporary seat of government. Elections were held for the first Parliament of Australia and on 9 May 1901, the new parliament was sworn in at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne.
The opening of the new parliament was seen as a historic and momentous occasion with King Edward VII's son, the Duke of Cornwall and York (later George V) coming to Australia to officially open the new parliament on behalf of the King. To appropriately capture the occasion, the "Australian Art Association", a consortium of private benefactors, sought to commission a painting of the event as a "gift to the nation". Their motives were not entirely altruistic; the consortium hoped to profit by selling prints. Roberts was not the consortium's first choice, with J. C. Waite initially preferred.
Composition
Although not commissioned on the day of the opening, Roberts had received an approach from the consortium and so attended the ceremony to take photographs and sketches. Two weeks after the event, after the consortium were turned down by Waite, Roberts was formally commissioned to produce the painting. The contract initially was for 650 guineas but this was increased to 1000 guineas when the scope of the work was realised. Roberts was also paid one guinea for each subject's sketch plus expenses; in all he received over 2000 guineas for the work, the equivalent of some AUS$323,000 in 2020. The contract required Roberts to include at least 250 recognisable likenesses in the finished work, including the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, the Governor General, each State Governor, Members of the new Commonwealth Parliament and other distinguished guests.
Roberts started to work on the painting in a room provided at the Royal Exhibition Building. He was supported by Carl Pinschof, who worked as a kind of secretary to Roberts in order to help him. The painting was made in three flax panels to enable it to be folded for transportation. He travelled to Sydney and many other places to make sketches of the attendees as well as working from photographs. He asked his subjects for "measurements" to ensure accuracy—age, height, weight, hat size and even place of birth. In all, the picture included 269 separate portraits. Rumours spread that Roberts was paid by some of these dignitaries to ensure they were placed in a more prominent location.
Most of the delegates at the ceremony wore black, still observing a period of mourning after the recent death of Queen Victoria. To balance this Roberts gave some emphasis to the choir, who were dressed in white. A shaft of light focused on the Duke reading the King's proclamation also provides some colour; this phenomenon was remarked upon by contemporary newspaper reports. Artistic licence was taken with the dais shown as much higher that it actually was and some other architectural features of the building either downplayed or ignored. Roberts also honoured the "Father of Federation", Henry Parkes, who had died five years previous. He added a portrait of Parkes in the form of a painting above the dais, this painting was not there on the day.
Roberts took the painting to London—where many of the attendees lived—to complete, using the South African Room of the Imperial Institute as his workspace. The painting was finished on 16 November 1903; in all, it took Roberts two and a half years to complete. It was then taken to Paris where photogravure reproductions were made for sale to the public, with Roberts signing 500 of them. Roberts did not sign the actual painting.