In the northeast Melbourne suburb of Eltham is a collection of historic buildings, including houses, halls, art studios, and even stables. Artists designed and built every one of them, while living on-site. Montsalvat is the creation of Justus Jorgensen, an Australian painter who initially trained as an architect before enrolling at the National Gallery School of Art in Melbourne. In 1934, Jorgensen was designing a studio in Eltham for painter Percy Leason when he decided he wanted to live in the same neighborhood. The dream of creating his own artists’…
