9 by 5 Impression Exhibition

It opened on 17 August 1889 at Buxton's Rooms on Swanston Street and featured 183 "impressions", the majority of which were painted by Charles Conder, Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton, three leading members of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism.

[1] In staging the exhibition, the artists sought to introduce the Melbourne public to impressionist painting, and in doing so established themselves as the vanguard of Australian art.

The works, together with the artists' overall arrangement of the exhibition space, reflected several concurrent styles and movements, including Japonisme, aestheticism and symbolism, with James McNeill Whistler being a particularly strong influence.

Melbourne's urban life and culture are also depicted, with landmarks such as Princess Theatre, the Old Treasury and the Burke and Wills statue making appearances, as well as the city's trams and games of Australian rules football.

[1] 9 by 5s continue to appear on the market; in 2019, Roberts' She-Oak and Sunlight sold at Sotheby's for A$770,000, and was acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria.