Nicholas Chevalier

Nicholas Chevalier (9 May 1828 – 15 March 1902) was a Russian-born artist who worked in Australia and New Zealand.

Early life Chevalier was born in St Petersburg, Russia. Nicholas' mother was Russian.

Career

He accompanied explorer/meteorologist Georg von Neumayer on trips to remote areas of Victoria, and the material gathered on such journeys resulted in some of his most recognised pieces of this period, including his painting of Mount Arapiles in Western Victoria.

Chevalier designed a dress for the governor's wife, the botanist Lady Barkly. The outfit incorporated the Southern Cross, and Chevalier also designed a lyrebird-inspired fan as an accessory to the outfit. It appears that she never wore the dress as she chose to appear as a "Marquise of the Court of Louis XV" for the Mayor's Fancy Dress Ball in 1863. Chevalier and Lady Barkly later collaborated on a present for the newly married Princess of Wales in the same year. The present was from the women of Victoria and like the dress, the chosen silver and gold flower stand design featured icons of Australian life.

Legacy

Chevalier married Caroline Wilkie in 1855.

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,

In 2011 Chevalier was the subject of a major survey exhibition and publication, Australian Odyssey, mounted by the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale, Victoria, which subsequently showed at the Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria.