Henry King (7 March 1855 – 22 May 1923) was an English-born Australian photographer, known for his studies of
Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
people and his views of
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 ...
. King was one of Australia's most significant early photographers, described by the Australian Photographic Review as "stand
nghigh in the esteem of the craft".
Life
Henry King was born in
Swanage
Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...
, Dorset, England, the son of a stonemason, William Isaac King 1832–1916 and his wife Eliza, née Tomes 1834–1912. King's family emigrated to Australia arriving in December 1856. In 1878 he married Elizabeth Lang.
[Richard King, ]
Henry King
', Australian Dictionary of Biography (retrieved 23 September 2013)
King's career as a photographer began in the Sydney studio of J. Hubert Newman.
From 1880 King had his owned studio, initially in partnership with William Slade, at 316 George Street Sydney. Between 1889 and 1894 King travelled widely in New South Wales and Queensland, making many photographic studies of Aboriginal Australians.
These were generally half-length portraits, against a painted backdrop.
King exhibited some of these portraits at the
World Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
at Chicago in 1893, receiving a bronze medal.
King also printed and exhibited in Chicago many photographs from negatives taken by Reverend W.G. Lawes of people and scenes photographed in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
and islands of the Pacific.
In later years he turned to landscape photography, using the dry-plate technique, and produced a great many scenic views of Sydney.
He also photographed notable views around New South Wales, including scenes of
Jenolan Caves
The Jenolan Caves (Tharawal language, Tharawal: ''Binoomea'', ''Bindo'', ''Binda'') are limestone cave, limestone caves located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Blue Mountains (New South ...
taken using magnesium flares.
King died on 22 May 1923 aged 68, leaving his wife, a son and three daughters. He was buried at
Waverley Cemetery
The Waverley Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, 1878) and P. Beddie (cemetery office, 1915 ...
.
After King's death, many of his glass negatives were purchased by J. R. Tyrrell and passed to
Consolidated Press Holdings
James Douglas Packer (born 8 September 1967) is an Australian billionaire businessman and investor. Packer is the son of Kerry Packer , a media mogul, and his wife, Roslyn Packer . He is the grandson of Sir Frank Packer. He inherited control o ...
.
The Tyrrell Collection, which includes works by a number of Australian photographers, is now held by the
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...
.
Exhibitions and honours
![St James church, Sydney](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/St_James_church%2C_Sydney.jpg)
*1904, the ''Australian Photographic Review'' devoted an entire issue to King's photographs
[
*1975, the Australian Centre for Photography held an exhibition of his Aboriginal portraits][
* His work was commissioned and exhibited by both the ]Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
and the Society of Artists, Sydney.[
* The ]Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...
holds a collection of his photographs and 1,300 glass negatives.[Powerhouse Museum, ]
Henry King Photography Studio 1880–1900
', (retrieved 23 September 2013)
* His work is held by the National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
Trove
National Library of Australia, (retrieved 23 September 2013)
See also
* Photography in Australia
Photography in Australia started in the 1840s. The first photograph taken in Australia, a daguerreotype of Bridge Street, Sydney, was taken in 1841.
In the early 20th century, Australian photography was heavily influenced by the Pictorialist a ...
* Cinema of Australia
The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...
* John Watt Beattie
* William Bland
William Bland (5 November 1789 – 21 July 1868) was a transported convict, medical practitioner and surgeon, politician, farmer and inventor in the Colony of New South Wales, Australia.
Early life
Bland was born in London on 5 November 1789 ...
* Jeff Carter (photographer)
Jeff Carter (5 August 1928 – 25 October 2010) was an Australian photographer, filmmaker and author. His work was widely published and contributed iconic representation of the working population of the Australian bush as self-sufficient rugged ...
* Maggie Diaz
* Ken G. Hall
Kenneth George Hall, AO, OBE (22 February 1901 – 8 February 1994), better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. ...
* Frank Hurley
James Francis "Frank" Hurley (15 October 1885 – 16 January 1962) was an Australian photographer and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with Australian forces durin ...
* Charles Kerry
Charles Henry Kerry (3 April 1857 – 26 May 1928) was an Australian photographer noted for his photographs that contributed to the development of the Australian national psyche and romance of the bush.
Early life and career
Kerry was born o ...
* David Perry (Australian filmmaker)
David Perry (1933 – 15 April 2015) was a pioneering Australian experimental and underground filmmaker, video artist, and a founding member of Ubu Films (1965). He also practised as a photographer, poster artist and painter.
During work on the ...
* Ruby Spowart
* Mark Strizic
References
External links
National Film and Sound Archive, Australia
Tyrrell Photographic Collection, Powerhouse Museum
National Library of Australia- Pictures
Obituary in Australasian photo-review, Vol. 30 No. 10 (15 October 1923) pp523 via Trove
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Henry
1855 births
1923 deaths
People from Swanage
English emigrants to Australia
Artists from Sydney
19th-century Australian photographers
20th-century Australian photographers