Frederick Christian Britton (21 May 1889 – 14 December 1931) was an artist and arts educator in South Australia and New South Wales.

History

Britton was born in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

, London and studied painting at the Brook Green School of Art, then the Slade School of Fine Art, London under Professor Henry Tonks and the Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts. In 1908 he served as official artist for Flinders Petrie's archaeological expedition to Egypt and moved to

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

in 1910 or 1911, and joined the staff of the South Australian School of Art under

J. Christie Wright John Christie Wright (22 August 1889 – 2 May 1917), generally referred to as J. Christie Wright, was a Scottish-born Australian sculptor. Early life and education John Christie Wright's birth record indicates that he was born in Aberdeen on 9 ...

, then in 1916 served as his replacement when he went off to war. He enlisted in April 1918 and served as an official War Artist, in the same unit as

Web Gilbert Charles Marsh Webb (Nash) Gilbert (18 March 1867 – 3 October 1925), known professionally as C. Web Gilbert, was a self-taught Australian sculptor renowned both within Australia and abroad. Gilbert was born at Cockatoo in Victoria, between Talb ...

and

Louis McCubbin Louis Frederick McCubbin (18 March 1890 – 6 December 1952), only ever known as "Louis McCubbin", was an Australian war artist, landscape painter and art gallery director. History McCubbin was born in Auburn, Victoria, the eldest son of Annie and ...

. He returned to Adelaide and for a time worked for publishers Tyrrell's Ltd., then in August 1921 was appointed by

Edith Napier Birks Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and va ...

as founding painting master of the School of Fine Arts, North Adelaide. He was a member of the South Australian Society of Arts, but quite critical of a section of its membership. In 1927 he moved 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 ...

, replaced by

F. Millward Grey Frederick Millward Grey (5 August 1899 – 1957), generally called "Millward Grey", was an English painter, etcher and art teacher who had a substantial career in South Australia. History Grey studied under Gerald Spencer Pryse, at the Central ...

, to join the advertising studio of Smith and Julius, then was appointed to the East Sydney Technical College.

Works

Britton is represented in the following collections: *

Carrick Hill Carrick Hill is a publicly accessible historic property at the foot of the Adelaide Hills, in the suburb of Springfield, in South Australia. It was the Adelaide home of Sir Edward "Bill" Hayward and his wife Ursula (née Barr-Smith), and cont ...

* National Gallery of Victoria ''On the Murray'' (etching
view here
* Powerhouse Museum ''Demolition of the Old Sydney Mint'' (1927 Etching) *Historic Houses Trust ''Hyde Park Barracks & District Court'
view here
*

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 ...

:*''Railway Station, Adelaide'' (1924 pencil drawing
view here
:*''"Granny" Euniapon'' of

Point McLeay Raukkan is an Australian Aboriginal community situated on the south-eastern shore of Lake Alexandrina in the locality of Narrung, southeast of the centre of South Australia's capital, Adelaide. Raukkan is "regarded as the home and heartlan ...

(1916 crayon sketch). Elsewhere spelled "Unaipon". :*''Pininbingerie'', companion piece to the above.

Family

He married Annie "Nance" Russell in 1912; they had one daughter Zara.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Frederick Christian Australian art teachers Australian lithographers Australian etchers Australian war artists Australian designers 1889 births 1931 deaths 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Australian male painters British emigrants to Australia 20th-century lithographers