John Peter Russell (1858-1930)

Following his marriage to the American singer Caroline de Witt Merrill, his daughter Jeanne's singing tutor, the Russell household settled in La Spezia on the Ligurian coast. Although they returned to England for the war years, Russell continued to travel to and paint in Italy until he returned to the southern hemisphere in 1921. His Italian work, like his work in the south of France, was distinguished by a brighter palette with 'very sweet colours -- citrine yellow, yellow pinks, greens and blues.' (A. Galbally, The Art of John Peter Russell, Melbourne, 1977, p.82)