JOHNSTONE, HENRY JAMES (1835-1907) After.

"Evening Shadows - Backwater of the Murray" (c.1885)
after the 1880 original by H.J. Johnstone
oil on canvas
61 x 91cm
unsigned
*private collection, Sydney
 
Henry James Johnstone was a leading portrait photographer in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia during the 1870s and 1880s, and also a prominent artist. After studying with sculptor Charles Summers and then joining Louis Buvelot's painting school in 1867, he joined the Melbourne National Gallery School of Painting under Thomas Clark. He became a member of the Victorian Academy of Arts in 1871, and a member of the Society of British Artists.In 1876 Johnstone left Melbourne for South Australia, where his realistic, highly detailed studies of local scenes were well received; he is represented in the Art Gallery of South Australia by three paintings: Evening shadows, backwater of the Murray, The Waterfall, Morialta and an untitled nude seated by a stream. He then travelled extensively in America, and then in 1880 to London, where he regularly exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy until 1900. "Evening Shadows" was the first painting acquired by the Art Gallery of South Australia, and it has been widely copied.