Alfred Clint (Australian painter)

Australian cartoonist and theatrical scene painter

Alfred Clint (c. 1843 – 21 November 1923) was an Australian cartoonist and theatrical scene painter and member of a family of artists.

Sir John Robertson by Alfred Clint, 1882

Railway to the Circular Quay

History

Clint was born in Kensington, England, son of marine landscapist Alfred Clint and grandson of portraitist George Clint.

He left for Australia, where he joined with John Hennings in 1867, painting the scenery for a production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, starring Walter Montgomery, followed by a Christmas pantomime written by W. M. Akhurst.^[1]Other burlesques and plays followed, culminating in After Dark, "a tale of London life", at the Prince of Wales Opera House in July 1869.^[2]In 1870 Clint and W. J. Wilson constructed a great diorama for the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, chronicling the "foundation an progress of Australia", and set up again in Sydney the following year.^[3]

In 1873 he arrived in Adelaide under contract to Samuel Lazar at the Theatre Royal, meanwhile drawing cartoons for the short-lived (1873–1874) Mirror, The Portonian, and The Lantern, making a speciality of assemblages of rapid and accurate caricatures of well-known citizens,^[4] then moved to Sydney to work for Sydney Punch, which in 1879 published a large print containing caricatures of 100 famous Sydneysiders. He contributed to The Bulletin from its inception in 1880.

He was a friend of W. B. Spong, father of Hilda Spong and scene painter for Brough and Boucicault.^[5]

Family

George Clint (1770–1854) ARA portraitist

• Raphael Clint (1797–1849) lithographer and printer in Australia, returned to UK c. 1885.
• Scipio Clint (1805–1839) medal and seal engraver
• Alfred Clint (1807–1883) known for coastal landscapes
  • Alfred Clint (1843 – 19 November 1923) married Mary Jane Percy Lake ( – c. 10 October 1918) on 22 June 1872
    • Helena Clint (died 1958) married Frank Fox (1874–1960) on 13 June 1894. Later Sir Frank, he was editor of The Lone Hand. They had a son and two daughters.
    • Alfred Thomas Clint (1879? 1882^[6] – c. 5 September 1936) watercolorist
    • George Edmund Clint ( – 14 April 1952) also exhibited. He and brother Alfred formed scene painting partnership.
    • Ethel Mary Clint married Walter James Dale on 31 March 1905
    • Edward Clint painter
    • Beatrice Clint
    • Dorothy Una Clint married Edward Robinson on 15 March 2013
    • Sydney Raphael Clint (28 July 1883 – 4 August 1930), of Blacktown, was a scene painter

References

1. "Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 6, 723. Victoria, Australia. 25 December 1867. p. 8. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "Advertising". The Empire. No. 5509. New South Wales, Australia. 12 July 1869. p. 1. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Family Notices". The Evening News (Sydney). No. 1373. New South Wales, Australia. 23 December 1871. p. 3. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "A Colonial Painting". The Border Watch. Vol. XIII, no. 1080. South Australia. 11 March 1874. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "Obituary". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 26, 799. New South Wales, Australia. 26 November 1923. p. 11. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "Alfred T. Clint". Windsor and Richmond Gazette. Vol. 37, no. 1956. New South Wales, Australia. 17 April 1925. p. 10. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.