William Strutt

1825 - 1915 English

Documentò la storia australiana

William Strutt era un artista inglese. Strutt nacque a Teignmouth, nel Devon, in Inghilterra, e proveniva da una famiglia di artisti; suo nonno, Joseph Strutt, era un noto autore e artista, e suo padre, William Thomas Strutt, era un bravo pittore di miniature. William Strutt visse la vita studentesca a Parigi, in Francia, e in Inghilterra, studiando pittura figurativa e storica. In risposta a un quasi crollo nervoso e a problemi agli occhi, Strutt decise di visitare l'Australia, arrivando il 5 luglio 1850 sulla nave Culloden, dove poi si sposò. 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 morì a Wadhurst, nel Sussex, in Inghilterra, il 3 gennaio 1915.