Benjamin Edwin Minns (17 November 1863 – 21 February 1937) was an Australian artist, recognised as one of Australia's foremost watercolourists. Minns was born in

Dungog, New South Wales Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire local government area and at the 2016 census it had a po ...

, Australia and had lessons in painting and drawing at

Inverell, New South Wales Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the No ...

. Intending to have a career in law, Minns went to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and worked for the law firm Abbot & Allen. However, he met the artist

Charles Conder Charles Edward Conder (24 October 1868 – 9 February 1909) was an English-born painter, lithographer and designer. He emigrated to Australia and was a key figure in the Heidelberg School, arguably the beginning of a distinctively Australi ...

with whom he shared a studio. Minns then studied under Lucien Henry at

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education i ...

, also taking lessons from the ''plein air'' painter

Julian Ashton Julian Rossi Ashton (27 January 185127 April 1942) was an English-born Australian artist and teacher. He is best known for founding the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and encouraging Australian painters to capture local life and scenery '' ...

. Minns obtained his first job at the ''

Illustrated Sydney News ''The Illustrated Sydney News'' was a monthly English language newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History First published on 8 October 1853 by Walter George Mason (1820 – 12 March 1866), William Edward Vernon and Ludolf ...

'' with Conder's help; Minns also drew for the

Sydney Mail Sydney Mailmay refer to: * Sydney Mail (train service), a train service that existed between 1888 and 1972 going from Brisbane to Wallangarra, where passengers would transfer at Wallangarra for the Brisbane Limited. * The Sydney Mail, an Australi ...

and regularly contributed to '' The Bulletin''. From 1895 to 1915 Minns worked in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, contributing to ''St Paul's Magazine'', ''Punch'', ''

The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...

'', the ''Bystander'' and other publications as well as sending drawings to ''The Bulletin''. Minns was a founder in 1924 and inaugural president (until 1937) of the

Australian Watercolour Institute The Australian Watercolour Institute (AWI) is a non-profit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolour painting in Australia. It was founded in 1923 by six painters in Sydney, and was modeled after the Royal Watercolour Soci ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minns, Benjamin Edwin 1863 births 1937 deaths Australian watercolourists 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Archibald Prize finalists Australian landscape painters Australian male painters Colony of New South Wales people