William Lister Lister (27 December 1859 – 6 November 1943) was an Australian painter who specialized in landscapes. He was awarded the

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

seven times. He was also a recipient of the Commonwealth Government prize for his painting of the Federal Capital site at

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. In some sources, the two Listers are hyphenated.

Biography

At the age of eight he moved with his parents to

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England; where his father was born. There, he studied at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

, then spent a year in Paris studying art. While there, his father changed the family name from Buttrey to Lister by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

. From 1876 to 1880, he studied mechanical engineering at the College of Science and Arts and the Fairfield Engineering Works, both in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, after which he became a ship's engineer. While studying, he joined the St. Mungo Art Club, founded by a Scottish cartoonist known as

Cynicus Martin Anderson, (1854 – 14 April 1932), better known by his pseudonym Cynicus, was a Scottish artist, political cartoonist, postcard illustrator, and publisher. Early life Martin Anderson was born in Leuchars, Fife, in 1854. After his mother, ...

, and was soon exhibiting at the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

, aged only seventeen.Australian Dictionary of Biography
/ref> After serving four years at sea as a ship's engineer, he settled in London in 1884, where he began painting professionally as well as teaching. During his stay there, he exhibited at the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

, the

Royal Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

and several others. He returned to Sydney in 1888 where he began producing the seascapes and coastal scenes for which he is best known. He joined the

Royal Art Society of New South Wales The Royal Art Society of New South Wales, or Royal Art Society of NSW, was established in 1880 as the Art Society of New South Wales by a group of artists including Arthur and George Collingridge, with the aim of creating an Australian school of p ...

, and remained with that organization when several artists broke away to form the "Society of Artists, Sydney" in 1907. During this time, he also became a trustee of the

National 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 served as vice-president from 1919 until his death. In 1898 he had a successful showing at the Exhibition of Australian Art in the

Grafton Galleries The Grafton Galleries, often referred to as the Grafton Gallery, was an art gallery in Mayfair, London. The French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel showed the first major exhibition in Britain of Impressionist paintings there in 1905. Roger Fry' ...

, London. That same year, he received his first Wynne Prize. In 1899, he married Bessie Enid Jenkins, a divorcée. He was a regular exhibitor at Anthony Hordern's art gallery from 1919 to 1940. Margaret Preston cited him as an early influence. He was known for his preference for very large canvases. He was struck by a taxi cab driver in Mosman; suffering severe head injuries from which he died a few hours later. In his obituary in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' they made note of the fact that the driver was a woman. He was survived by a daughter. His wife had predeceased him in 1935.

Selected paintings

File:Lister-Blue.jpg, The Blue Mountains File:Lister-Schenk.jpg, Cape Schenk,

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...

File:W Lister Lister Federal Capital Site.jpg, Federal Capital Site File:Lister-River.jpg, Twilight River Scene

Wynne Prize awards

*1898 - ''The Last Gleam'' *1906 - ''The Golden Splendour of the Bush'' *1910 - ''Mid Song of Birds and Insects Murmuring'' *1912 - ''Sydney Harbour'' *1913 - ''Federal Capital Site'' *1917 - ''Windswept Marshes'' *1925 - ''Track through the Bush''

References

* McCulloch, Alan. ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art'', Hutchinson Ltd London 1968. Page 332 * McCulloch, Alan and Susan. ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art''. 3rd Edition, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994. Page 432 * Campbell, Jean. ''Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day''. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 336 * Clifford-Smith, Silas. 'William Lister Lister', Dictionary of Australian Artists Online (peer-reviewed biography)

accessed 2010-01-02

External links

More works by Lister
@ ArtNet
Link to the watercolour, 'The Federal Capital site, Canberra, Australia, 1913', at National Library of Australia

Link to the oil on canvas, 'Canberra, 1912', at National Library of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lister Lister, William 1859 births 1943 deaths Australian watercolourists Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Artists from Sydney Australian people of English descent Wynne Prize winners People from Manly, New South Wales Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in New South Wales 19th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian artists Artists from New South Wales Colony of New South Wales people