James Waltham Curtis b. 1839 Devonshire, England, UK

  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator) , (Photographer) , (Painter)
Painter, illustrator and photographic colourist. A regular exhibitor at the Black and White exhibitions, Victorian Academy of Arts, in the 1880s.
Talk | Version history | Updated Oct. 19, 2011 | Created Jan. 1, 1996
Name
James Waltham Curtis
Birth date
1839
Birth place
Devonshire, England, UK
Death date
1901
Death place
None
Gender
Male
Roles
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
  • Artist (Photographer)
  • Artist (Painter)
Residence
  • c.1850- c.1901 Melbourne, Vic.
  • c.1839- c.1850 Devonshire, England, UK
Other Occupation
  • Photographic colourist (Photographic colourist Johnstone, O'Shannessy and Co., Melbourne, Vic.)
Active Period
  • c.1880- c.1889
Languages
  • English
Is Indigenous
No
Initial Record Data Source
  • Black and white artists

painter, illustrator and photographic colourist, was born in Devonshire. He had worked on the London Graphic and Sketcher before coming to Victoria, probably with the goldrush. In Melbourne he worked first as a colourist for Johnstone, O’Shannessy and Co., then as an illustrator on the Illustrated Australian News succeeding O.R. Campbell. His oil paintings are mainly landscapes, eg Roadside Stall, 1876 , 1888 (NLA) and Summertime 1887 (ill. Sotheby’s Fine Australian Paintings 22-23 April 1996, cat.283), and his illustrations seem all to be topographical. Cattle Grazing 1885, a b/w wash painting, was offered for sale at $1,500 by Bridget McDonnell Gallery in July-August 2000 (not illustrated). McDonnell notes that he was a regular exhibitor at the Black and White exhibitions held by the Victorian Academy of Arts in the 1880s.

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Writers:
Staff Writer
Date written:
1996
Last updated:
2007
associate of
C. A. Abbott
Artist (Draughtsman)
associate of
Victorian Academy of Arts
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
Roadside Stall, 1876
Date
1888
Summertime
Date
1887
Cattle Grazing
Date
1885
Collections
Black and White exhibitions
c.1880- c.1889
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Victorian Academy of Arts, Victoria
Citations:
  • Kerr, Joan, [Joan Kerr Archive], (Place: Canberra, ACT : National Library of Australia)
  • McCulloch, Alan; & McCulloch, Susan, (1994), Encyclopedia of Australian Art, (Place: Sydney, NSW : Allen & Unwin, (2nd ed.))