Percy Frederick Seaton Spence (14 December 1868 – 3 August 1933) was an Australian artist. Spence was born in

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 ...

, seventh child of English parents Francis Spence, civil servant, and his wife Hannah, ''née'' Turnbull. Spence spent his youth in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

where his father held a government position. Spence became an illustrator to the Sydney ''

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'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' The Bulletin'' and also exhibited at the Royal Art Society. In 1893 Spence made two drawings of

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

in Sydney; one is now in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Spence went to England after marrying Jessie Wright 30 January 1894; illustrations by him appeared in ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', ''Black and White'', the ''Graphic'', and other well-known publications of the time. Spence had two pictures in the Royal Academy exhibition of 1899 and his work was also accepted in the three following years. In 1901 he was responsible for the illustrations to ''Britain's Austral Empire'', mostly portraits of the leading Australian politicians of that period. In 1905 Spence was back in Sydney and held a one-man show of his work, and in 1910 he provided 75 illustrations for the volume ''Australia'', in Black's colour series. They show Spence to have been an artist of ability and variety. Spence died of

uraemia Uremia is the term for high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, in the blood that would be nor ...

on 3 August 1933 in

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

, London, after an eye operation. Spence is represented in the National Gallery and the

Mitchell library The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland. History The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...

in Sydney. A pencil sketch of Phil May is in the

National Portrait Gallery (London) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

, and other portraits are at

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and at the High Court. The "H. M. Australian Fleet arriving at Sydney Heads" and a portrait of Rear-Admiral George Patey are at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Percy 1868 births 1933 deaths 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Australian male painters Artists from Sydney Australian expatriates in Fiji Australian people of English descent Colony of Fiji people Visual artists in early 20th-century Australia