S. T. Gill
Subscription Ball, Ballarat
This popular watercolour of a Subscription Ball in Ballarat in
1854 has all the features one expects to see in Gill's work.
An artist with a wry sense of humour, Gill has not only captured
the expressions of the participants but also the many different
types of people who might be found at an occasion such as this.
One of three slightly different versions of the same theme, this
work may depict one of a series of 'grand balls' that took place
in the Assembly Room located on the Main Road between the
Gravel Pits and Red Hill in the spring of 1854. The first of
these balls was advertised for Monday 30th October as featuring
'Ralinger and his popular Quadrille Band. Tickets one guinea,
introducing ladies. Dancing commencing at nine…' In this
particular version a band plays on a balcony that has been
decorated with a coat of arms and a slogan 'Advance Australia'
while some of the participants kick up their heels on the dance
floor below.