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Henry King photographs from the Tyrrell Collection
Object No. 85/1285
These photographic negatives were taken by the Sydney based photographer Henry King. They are part of a collection of over 1300 glass plates which are part of the Tyrrell collection and which were taken between 1880 and 1917, although most appear to have been made in the late 1880s and 1890s. King was one of the Colony's most significant early photographers and although born in England around 1855 grew up in Sydney. He found work with the well-known Sydney photographer J. Hubert Newman and in 1880 established a studio in partnership with William Slade. Four years later he was sole proprietor. King quickly established a reputation for himself due to the high quality of his finished work. While King's income, like many other photographers, was dependent on portraiture, he, like Kerry, is best known for his outdoor work. These views, particularly his city views, are justifiably praised and seem more carefully framed and printed than Kerry's. Outdoor views of Sydney make up the main bulk of King's work in the collection although, like Kerry, he took a series of photographs of the Jenolan Caves using magnesium flares. Henry King died aged 68 in Waverley War Memorial Hospital on 22 May 1923 following abdominal surgery. Geoff Barker, Curatorial, December, 2008 References King, Richard, Australian Dictionary of Biography - Online Edition Josef Lebovic, Henry King, 1855 - 1923, auction catalogue, Josef Lebovic Gallery, Paddington, Australia, date unknown Newton, Gael, Shades of Light; Photography and Australia 1839 - 1988, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1988
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Summary
Object Statement
Negatives, various subjects, silver gelatin / glass, published by Henry King, part of the Tyrrell collection, New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, 1890-1917
Physical Description
Negatives, various subjects, silver gelatin / glass, published by Henry King, part of the Tyrrell collection, New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, 1890-1917.
HISTORY
Notes
These 1334 photographs taken by Henry King are also part of a larger collection of 7,900 negatives once owned by Sydney bookseller, James Tyrrell. After King's death in 1923 the studio collection of glass negatives was purchased by Tyrrell. In addition to the Henry King images, the Tyrrell Collection at the Powerhouse Museum includes glass plate negatives published by Kerry & Co. Studio and a number of other negatives by unattributed photographers. James Tyrrell used the images by Kerry & Co. and Henry King to produce his own booklets and views of New South Wales but although full of iconic Australian images, the collection does not appear to have been fully utilised by Tyrrell. The photographic collection acquired by Tyrrell, although full of iconic Australian images does not appear to have been fully utilised by its owner and in 1980 it was purchased by Australian Consolidated Press. Its new owners almost immediately set about producing a limited series of complete sets of contact prints of the collection for a libraries and museums in New South Wales. Housed in boxes copies of these were given to the State Library of New South Wales and the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney. In 1985 they donated the collection to the Powerhouse Museum. The collection at this time consisted of 7,903 glass plate negatives and 7,916 contact positive prints, and of these 493 glass plates were damaged but usable, 13 plates totally broken. In 1975 a very successful exhibition of Henry King's Aboriginal portraits was held at the Australian Centre for Photography. Geoff Barker, Curatorial, December, 2008
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Australian Consolidated Press under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme, 1985
Acquisition Date
19 July 1985
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
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