William Strutt

1825 - 1915 English

Documentó la historia australiana

William Strutt fue un artista inglés. Strutt nació en Teignmouth, Devon, Inglaterra, y provenía de una familia de artistas; su abuelo, Joseph Strutt, era un conocido autor y artista, y su padre, William Thomas Strutt, era un buen pintor de miniaturas. William Strutt disfrutó de una vida estudiantil en París, Francia, e Inglaterra, estudiando pintura figurativa e histórica. En respuesta a un colapso nervioso casi total y problemas con sus ojos, Strutt decidió visitar Australia, llegando el 5 de julio de 1850 en el Culloden, donde luego se casó. In Melbourne, Strutt found employment as an illustrator on the short-lived Illustrated Australian Magazine, published by Thomas Ham, as there was little demand for the figurative and history paintings for which he was trained. Some of his designs did, however, lead to commissions, including a design for a new postage stamp, and an Anti-Transportation League card. Despite the lack of interest for major history paintings in Melbourne, Strutt continued to sketch suitable subjects, including the ‘Black Thursday’ bushfires, which swept over the colony on 6 February 1851. It was from these sketches that Strutt composed one of his most notable paintings some 10 years later, Black Thursday, 6 February. 1851, 1864, which depicted animals and men fleeing from the fire. William Strutt murió en Wadhurst, Sussex, Inglaterra, el 3 de enero de 1915.