LOOKING BACK

Kahler was born in Austria in 1856 and trained in Munich, Paris and Italy. He arrived in Melbourne from London in 1885, and established a successful portrait practice. He is best remembered for three major paintings in Melbourne – The Lawn at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day (1887), The Derby Day at Flemington (1888-1889) and The Betting Ring at Flemington (1889), which are all owned by the Victoria Racing Club.

The key to the promenading racegoers in this print names 73 individuals including the governors of NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Kahler’s paintings were highly praised in the newspapers, and they were soon reproduced as prints by the famous firm of Goupil in Paris.

In 1890 Kahler left Australia for New Zealand and then travelled on to San Francisco. It was in San Francisco where he was killed in the earthquake of April 18, 1906.