James Laurence Watts
James Laurence Watts (1849–1925) was a sculptor in Queensland, Australia. He was one of the pioneer sculptors in Australia and his works appear in many Queensland public buildings and places.[1]
Early life
James Laurence Watts was born in the town of Bedminster, Somerset, England to John and Betsey (née Dowdney) Watts.[2] Bedminster being today a district of Bristol. James is the third eldest in a family of 4 sons. The family moved to Weston-super-Mare on the Somerset coast about 1855. Here John found work as a fisherman.
It is not known what inspired James to be a sculptor but his elder brother is a mason and this may have been the inspiration. It is believed that James received his early art training at the South Kensington School of Arts, London during the period of 1870s. He then married Mary Louisa Lloyd on 15 January 1880 at Pembroke, St Mary, Pembrokeshire, Wales.[3]
On the 31st November 1884 he and his wife and family of one daughter and two sons arrive in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia aboard the ship ‘Roma’.[4] James Watts’ family were listed as ‘Bounty’ passengers, as was the majority of passengers on ship. The meaning of ‘Bounty ‘ is a form of assisted passage by the Queensland Government at that time to provide industry in Queensland with skilled labourers and tradesmen.
Career
James accepts work on arrival with James Campbell and Sons, a large sawmilling and building materials merchant of Brisbane. James Campbell and Sons had purchased in 1883, Petrie's Quarry and Brickworks along with Fischer’ Pottery at Albion as part of the company's expansion. There was a market at the time for good quality pottery and James was employed as a clay modeller at the pottery. James continued to be employed at the pottery for most of his working life.
His first known sculpture is in 1888 in the form of a bust of Sir Anthony Musgrave, an early Governor of Queensland who died in office. This sculpture was displayed at the head office of James Campbell and Sons.[5]
The Queensland Art Gallery holds two items of Watts’ a Jardiniere c.1890 a product of the James Campbell and Sons pottery works and a Sketch model of the late David Bowman (c.1916). Other bust sculptures include Alderman R. Fraser, Mayor of Brisbane[8] (c. 1895), James Campbell (c. 1906), being his employer being noted industrialist and politician along with Judge Edward Mansfield (c. 1906).[9]
All of these works involve sculpturing in plaster and then in some cases bronzing. He is then commissioned in 1918 by the Queensland Trades and Labour Council to sculpture a marble bust of Emma Miller (1839–1917), a seamstress and women's rights and labour activist.[10] That bust is now held in the Emma Miller Room at the Queensland Council of Unions.
The National Gallery of Australia holds a collection of 25 ceramic and earthenware items from James Campbell and Sons Albion and it thought that Watts was the originator of most of these items.
James Watts most noted work was a bronzed sculpture of Boer War soldier on horseback titled ‘The Scout’ which dominates the Boer War Memorial in Anzac Square in Brisbane. An agreement was made in 1912 with the Boer War Memorial committee for Watts to supply the status in its finished state for £1760. Owing to the difficulties of casting in Australia, the plaster model was sent to Parlanti Foundry, and the statue reached Australia in 1917.
The ability to cast a sculpture of this size was acquired by previous commercial sculpture work for the International Exhibition held in Brisbane during 1897. This was in the form of life-sized equestrian statue of a knight in armour for the brand Champion's Vinegar, whilst the other item is a group of cooks who are disporting themselves over a giant tin of Coleman's mustard.[11]
Architectural Terracotta
The Albion Pottery was also well known for architectural terracotta, which was incorporated into buildings of the time giving a sculptured look to the building. The
It is thought that Watts was the designer and modeller of this form of terracotta because during that period his name is associated with a number of commercial premises being constructed in Brisbane. He was mentioned as the modeller or architectural sculptor for the Queensland Trustees building, the Commercial Union Assurance Building, South British Insurance Company building in Queen Street[12] and the decorative moulding on the front of the Burns, Philp and Co warehouse[13] in Brisbane. It is not known if the latter architecture was terracotta or entailed sculpturing stone.
Landscape Painter
As well as a sculptor, James Watts was also a noted landscape painter exhibiting at the Brisbane Art Society Exhibitions with many of his works being acquired by local residents. Many of his landscape paintings are of the Brisbane River around the district of Sherwood where he lived prior to moving to the suburb of Taringa.
The
Teaching career
Watts was the instructor in modelling at the
The establishment of the
James Laurence Watts died early on Saturday 26 September 1925 at his home in Hillsdon Road, Taringa aged 76. The private interment took place to Toowong Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. The chief mourners were his widow, his three daughters (Mrs. Watkins and the Misses Watts), and three sons (Messrs. James Arthur, H. T., and E. W. Watts)[1]
Works
His works include:
Sculptures:
- "Christ and the woman of Samaria" [19]
- "The Solo" [19]
- The Scout, an equestrian statue as the South African War Memorial (1912), Brisbane, listed on the Queensland Heritage Register[1][20]
- bronze portal bust of Queensland Legislative Assembly[1]
- bust of Thomas Joseph Byrnes, Premier of Queensland[1]
- bust of Hugh Nelson, Premier of Queensland[1]
- bust of Thomas McIlwraith, Premier of Queensland[1]
- marble bust of Emma Miller, prominent worker in the Labour movement, for the Trades Hall[1][21][22]
- bronze statuette of Australian Labour Party[1]
- tympanum of the Commercial Union Insurance building in Eagle Street, Brisbane[23]
Paintings:
- ‘Lydstep Cliffs’ (c. 1883) [24]
- 'Trinity Wharf, Milford Haven' (c. 1883) [25]
- ‘Sylvan Spot’ (c. 1893) [26]
- Sunset' (c. 1894) [27]
- 'On the Edge of the Scrub,' (c. 1894) [28]
- 'One-tree Hill' (c. 1894) [28]
- 'A Gray Morning' (c. 1895) [29]
- 'A Suburban Residence' (c. 1895) [29]
- 'Calm' (C.1896) [30]
- 'Morning' (C.1896) [30]
- 'Night' (C.1896) [30]
- 'Storm' (C.1896) [30]
- 'Reflection, Deep and Silent Pool' (c. 1898)[31]
- 'Sylvan Shade' (c. 1898)[31]
- 'An Australian Home' (c. 1901) [32]
- 'The Valley of the Tweed' (c. 1904) [33]
- 'Picnic Point, near Oxley' (c. 1904) [33]
- 'Evening' (c. 1904) [33]
- 'A Sandpit near Oxley' (c. 1904) [34]
- 'Mellow Morning Mists' (c. 1906) [35]
- 'Veil of Night' (c. 1906) [35]
References
- ^ The Brisbane Courier. 29 September 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 1 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "James Laurence Watts (Births and Christenings)". Family Search. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "James Lawrence Watts (Marriage)". Family Search. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "Queensland State Archives | Heritage" (PDF).
- The Brisbane Courier. 1 December 1888. p. 5. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 3 July 1909. p. 4. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald & General Advertiser. 18 November 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 20 September 1895. p. 4. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 28 November 1906. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 10 January 1918. p. 9. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIES". The Queenslander. 15 May 1897. p. 20. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 13 August 1903. p. 8. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "BURNS, PHILP & COMPANY". The Queenslander. 10 September 1904. p. 32. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 13 September 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 28 January 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald & General Advertiser. 4 April 1905. p. 11. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ a b "Queensland Art Society". The Queenslander. 19 August 1893. p. 354. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "South African War Memorial (entry 600060)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- The Brisbane Courier. 12 December 1931. p. 18. Retrieved 1 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Late Emma Miller". The Worker. Brisbane. 26 October 1922. p. 15. Retrieved 1 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "New Premises of the Commercial Union Assurance Company, Brisbane". The Queenslander. 4 April 1903. p. 758 Supplement: Unknown. Retrieved 1 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Queensland Art Society". The Queenslander. 20 August 1892. p. 363. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Art". The Queenslander. 11 August 1894. p. 261. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Current News". The Queenslander. 2 September 1893. p. 473. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 21 July 1894. p. 4. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ The Brisbane Courier. 7 August 1894. p. 6. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Art". The Queenslander. 7 September 1895. p. 454. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c d "ART". The Queenslander. 1 August 1896. p. 213. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Art and Artists". The Queenslander. 6 August 1898. p. 266 Supplement: Unknown. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. 14 September 1901. p. 5. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ The Brisbane Courier. 13 September 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- Queensland Figaro. Brisbane. 15 September 1904. p. 10. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "EXHIBITION OF PICTURES". The Capricornian. Rockhampton, Qld. 1 December 1906. p. 44. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
- Media related to James Laurence Watts at Wikimedia Commons