professional photographer, of no known connection to painter Nicholas Chevalier. He is likely to be the Thomas Chevalier who arrived in 1855 listing profession as grocer possibly as he was leaving a wife in England. Where Thomas learned photography is unknown but he was prominent among Sandhurst (Bendigo) photographers before 1870. He had a studio called Chevalier’s Photographic Portrait Gallery in Pall Mall from 1865 to 1868, at one time advertising: 'Mr. Chevalier in returning thanks for past patronage, begs to inform his customers and the public in general, that he has the best lighted rooms in the colony. The sky and side lights afford a soft and beautiful light, which enables the sitter to obtain a life-like portrait’. He offered a variety of portrait styles, regardless of weather, and sold imported frames and cases. An advertisement of 1865 offering copies of cartes-de-visite taken by him over the preceding four years suggests that he had been working in the area since about 1861.
Although primarily a studio photographer, Chevalier also produced photographs of early business premises and public buildings in and around Sandhurst. For a time he had a branch establishment at nearby Eaglehawk and was briefly a hotel-keeper there. Little is known of his movements after setting up a studio in Smith Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, between 1877 and 1882. He appears to have become a builder and left a reasonable estate.
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- Writers:
- Cusack, Frank
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2022
