Frank Henry Bartels (18 February 1867 – 18 May 1895) was an Australian pen-and-ink artist and engraver.

Early life and education

Frank Henry Bartels was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

on 18 February 1867, the second son of

Adolph Bartels Adolph Heinrich Friedrich Bartels (29 July 1819 – 9 November 1878) was a German-born Australian politician. He was Mayor of Adelaide 1871–1873. History Bartels was born in Gilten, Hannover. He grew up in humble circumstances, and trained ...

, best known as mayor of Adelaide, and his second wife Anna Augusta Bartels. He was educated at the school conducted by Adolph Leschen, and at

Whinham College North Adelaide Grammar School, later Whinham College was a private school operated in North Adelaide, South Australia by John Whinham (3 August 1803 – 13 March 1886) and his family. History John Whinham The founder of the school was born at Sh ...

Career

An architect by training, Bartels was apprenticed to the firm of Wright, Reed and Beaver, but finding no prospect of employment, began working as a clerk. He had no formal art tuition. He established a studio at the family home in

Hurtle Square Hurtle Square, also known as Tangkaira, is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. Located in the centre of the south-eastern quarter of the city, it surrounds the intersection of Halifax and Pulteney Streets. ...

, where public attention was drawn to his painstaking

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

s and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s. Later that year he exhibited 22 pen-and-ink sketches at E. S. Wigg's stationery shop which were praised for their design and execution, comparing some with the work of

Mortimer Menpes Mortimer Luddington Menpes (22 February 1855 – 1 April 1938) was an Australian-born British painter, author, printmaker and illustrator. Life Menpes was born in Port Adelaide, South Australia, the second son of property developer James ...

at the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

. In 1893 Bartels exhibited several pen-and-ink sketches with the

Adelaide Easel Club The Adelaide Easel Club was a society for South Australian painters which broke away from the South Australian Society of Arts in 1892 and which re-merged with the parent organization in 1901. History The club was founded in November 1892 when a g ...

that were admired, and late that year exhibited, at Fritz and Bernard's Art Palace, 62

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes ...

, 92 views of South Australian scenery, including several watercolours. In 1894 his painting ''The Eagle on the Hill'' was recommended as an addition to the colonial section of the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Works

Bartels was much in demand for creating decorated addresses and certificates for presentation at official ceremonies, on account of the beauty and precision of his artwork and

illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also * Illuminate (disambi ...

lettering. Examples include: *Presentation to Sir

Isaac Pitman Sir Isaac Pitman (4 January 1813 – 22 January 1897) was a teacher of the :English language who developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in ''Stenographic Soundhand'' in 183 ...

*Prize certificates for the Literary Societies' Union and Chamber of Manufactures' Exhibition. *Presentation to Dr R. T. Wylde of the Home for Incurables, Fullarton, on the eve of his return to England. *His last work was an address to Johnstone, Superintendent of Police at

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

, New South Wales.

Death

Bartels was caught up in the

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

epidemic of 1895 and died at his home on Winchester Street,

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

, on 18 May 1895. His funeral was well-attended. He was buried at

West Terrace Cemetery The West Terrace Cemetery is South Australia's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of Adelaide. The site is located in Park 23 of the Adelaide Park Lands just south-west of the Adelaide city centre, between ...

Family

Bartels married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jeffery on 17 June 1892. They had two daughters, both educated at

Dryburgh House Dryburgh is a village in the Borders region of Scotland, within the county of Berwickshire. It is most famous for the ruined Dryburgh Abbey. Dryburgh Abbey Hotel lies on the edge of the village. The village K6 red telephone box outside the for ...

. *Doris Eileen "Patsy" Bartels (20 June 1893 – ) married Ian Basil Pender on 7 December 1921. Pender was a medical doctor, later of

Murrumbeena, Victoria Murrumbeena is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Murrumbeena recorded a population of 9,996 at the 2021 census ...

. *Pauline Berkeley "Pauli" Bartels (1894– ) married Rudolph "Rudi" Bronner in England on 7 April 1917. :*Elizabeth Pauline Berkeley Bronner (1919– ) married Donald Malcolm Reid in Sydney on 6 August 1940.

Footnotes

References

External links

Five works by Bartels
at the Art Gallery of South Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartels, Frank 1867 births 1895 deaths 19th-century Australian artists