- John Skinner Prout
John Skinner Prout (1805–1876) was born in
Plymouth ,England , nephew of the famous English watercolouristSamuel Prout .Prout emigrated to
Sydney in 1840, accompanied by his wife and their seven children, Prout hoping to pursue a career inAustralia as a professional artist and printer. Amongst the possessions that he brought with him to the colony ofNew South Wales was a lithographic press, which enabled him to set up the 'J.S. Prout and Co. Australian Lithographic Establishment.'In the first four years of his residence in Sydney, between 1840 and 1844, Prout undertook a number of sketching tours in the districts around Sydney. Prout followed the route of many artists of the period, journeying west across the Blue Mountains towards Bathurst, south to
Broulee and the Illawarra district, and north to Newcastle andPort Stephens . Returning from these travels, Prout would work up his sketches into finished works in lithographs, watercolour and oil paint for sale.Whilst Prout was a resident in Sydney he held a number of exhibitions of his work. He also presented lectures on the technique of drawing and painting in watercolour, sold numerous works, and produced a series of lithographic views of the colony, a number of which were published in "Sydney illustrated".
Due to the lacklustre market for his works, competition by more established artists such as
Conrad Martens , and the depressed economic circumstances of Sydney during the 1840s, Prout and his family moved once more, this time to the colony ofVan Diemen's Land (Tasmania ) in February 1844. Here Prout was more successful, drawing the patronage of the Governor SirJohn Franklin and his wife. Prout returned to England in June 1848.Publications
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2266516 John Skinner Prout, "Sydney illustrated" (Sydney: J.S. Prout, 1843).]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2759188 John Skinner Prout, "Journal of a voyage from Plymouth to Sydney, in Australia: on board the emigrant ship Royal Sovereign, with a short description of Sydney" (London: Smith, Elder, 1844).]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn111805 John Skinner Prout, "Prout's dioramic views of Australia, illustrative of convict and emigrant life: exhibited in the theatre of the Western Literary and Scientific Institution" (London: Printed by M. Snell, 1850?).]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn749296 John Skinner Prout, "An illustrated handbook of the voyage to Australia and a visit to the gold fields" (London?: s.n., 1852?).]External links
* [http://www.nla.gov.au/catalogue/pictures/ Prout's works in the
National Library of Australia ,Canberra ]
* [http://www.michaelorgan.org.au/prout.htm Michael Organ, "John Skinner Prout at Broulee (1841) and Illawarra (1843-4), New South Wales, Australia"]
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