John Watt Beattie John Watt Beattie i(A61233 works by)
Born: Established: 1859 Aberdeen,
c
Scotland,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe,
; Died: Ceased: 24 Jun 1930 Hobart, Southeast Tasmania, Tasmania,
Gender: Male
Arrived in Australia: 1878
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

'John Watt Beattie (1859-1930), photographer and antiquarian, was born on 15 August 1859 at Aberdeen, Scotland, son of John Beattie, master house-painter and photographer, and his wife Esther Imlay, née Gillivray. After a grammar-school education he migrated with his parents and brother in 1878, and struggled to clear a farm in the Derwent Valley, Tasmania. He soon turned to his life's work. From 1879 he made many photographic expeditions into the bush, becoming a full-time professional in 1882 in partnership with Anson Bros whom he bought out in 1891. Gifted with both physical zeal and craftsman skills, he probably did more than anyone to shape the accepted visual image of Tasmania. An admirer of William Piguenit, Beattie stressed the same wildly romantic aspects of the island's beauty. His work included framed prints, postcards, lantern-slides and albums, and was the basis for a popular and pleasing set of Tasmanian pictorial stamps (in print 1899-1912).'

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • See the full Australian Dictionary of Biography Online entry for John Watt Beattie.
Last amended 21 Apr 2017 11:21:40
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X