BENNETT, JOSEPH (1853-1929)

“Chrysanthemums” (1895)
Oil on canvas
31.5 x 75cm
Signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Joseph Arthur Bennett was a respected British-born Australian painter and teacher. He studied at the School of Arts in Manchester and later with acclaimed French painter, Leon Bonnat in Paris. He exhibited at the Royal Academy 1882, then immigrated to Sydney that same year. He was a prolific exhibitor at the Art Society Of NSW, and an Archibald Prize finalist. He also exhibited at Centennial and Jubilee Exhibitions in Melbourne and Adelaide, alongside contemporaries including the great Tom Roberts. His works are held in several important National Collections. He also taught Fine Art at Pymble Ladies College from 1916-1926 (designing their emblem) where he is immortalized as "Bennett", one of the School Houses.