Joseph Backler b. 1813

  • Artist (Painter)
Joseph Backler made the best of his transportation to Australia by becoming a prolific and highly regarded portrait painter. He travelled the east coast taking commissions and leaving a rich legacy of 19th century Australian portraiture.

Citations

  • Buscombe, E. (1978), 'Artists in Early Australia and their Portraits’, Sydney, NSW.

  • Hackforth-Jones, J. (1977), 'The Convict Artists’, Melbourne, Vic.

  • McCulloch, Alan (1984), 'Encyclopedia of Australian Art’, 2nd edition, Melbourne, Vic.

  • McDonald, P. R. & Pearce, B. (1988), 'The Artist and the Patron’, Art Gallery of New South Wales catalogue, Sydney, NSW.

  • Moore, William (1934), 'The Story of Australian Art’, 2 vols. (facsimile reprint 1980).

  • Neville, Richard (1993), 'Joseph Backler’, Australian Antique Collector, 46th edition.

  • (1982), 'Australian and European Paintings’, Spinks auction catalogue, 03-23.

  • (1985), Sotheby’s catalogue, no. 15, 25, 10.

  • (1845), The Australian, 01-29.

  • (1850), Bell’s Life in Sydney, 06-29.

  • Dixson, W., 'Notes on Australian artists’, Dixson Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney NSW, manuscript WD53.

  • 'Indents for the ship Portland’, Archives Office of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 4/4017.

  • Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Sydney, NSW.

  • Victoria & Albert Library, London, England, UK.

  • (1999), 'Backler and Friends (1st Retrospective Exhibition)’, State Library of New South Wales, Picture Gallery, Sydney, NSW.

  • 'Artists’ Files’, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.

  • 'Artists’ Files’, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.

See also

  • Roberts, Timothy (2011), 'Signifying success: Joseph Backler's portraits of Robert and Alice Pollock', Queensland History Journal Vol 21 No 7 (Nov 2011), pp 438-446.
  • Roberts, Timothy (2010), 'Picturing Progress: Rediscovering Joseph Backler's View of Brisbane', The National Library Magazine, June 2010, pp 8-11. http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2010/jun10/02-Picturing-Progress.pdf
  • Roberts, Timothy (2010), 'A "National Portrait" for Queensland', Australiana Vol 32 No 4 November 2010, pp 5-8.
  • Roberts, Timothy (2011), 'People and Places: Joseph Backler in Queensland', Australiana vol 33 no 2 May 2011, pp 18-24.

Initial data sources

  • The Dictionary of Australian Artists: painters, sketchers, photographers and engravers to 1870