John William Twycross (15 March 1871 — 13 December 1936) was an Australian Pictorialist photographer. His main body of work was produced between 1918 and 1932; and his photographs documented rural scenes, seascapes, working life, and architecture around Port Phillip Bay, and Melbourne.
John Twycross | |
|---|---|
 John William Twycross | |
| Born | 15 March 1871 |
| Died | 13 December 1936 (aged 65) |
| Occupation | Australian Pictorialist Photographer |
| Spouse | Frances Jane Fox |
| Children | John Wilton Twycross |
| Parent(s) | John Twycross Charlotte Elizabeth Clutterbuck Twycross |
Family
editThe son of John Twycross (1819-1889),[1][2] a woolmerchant from Wokingham, and Charlotte Elizabeth Clutterbuck Twycross (1834-1908), née Burrell,[3][4] John William Twycross was born on 15 March 1871 in St Kilda, Victoria.[5] He had one sibling, Ida Lillian Kate Twycross (1874-1943), later Mrs. Peter Kenneth McArthur.[6][7][8]
He married Frances Jane Fox (1878-1954) in 1906.[9] They had one child: a son, John Wilton Twycross (1916-2008).
Early life
editThe Twycross family lived on the corner of Beavis St. and Glenhuntly Rd, and their home "Emmarine", a substantial villa, and one of only four houses between the Elsternwick Railway Station and Kooyong Rd, in what was then the rural district of Elsternwick.[10]
He was among those students who attended Caulfield Grammar School on its first day of operation (i.e., 25 April 1881);[11] and he studied there from 1881 to 1888 (inclusive).[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
At home, he grew up surrounded by a large Collection of decorative arts and paintings. His father, was an art collector who established much of his collection whilst attending the Melbourne International Exhibition (1880).[22]
Art Studies
editSubsequently Twycross studied art at school, his ambition being to paint in Florence. This plan was thwarted by the land crash of 1889.[23][24] He had to leave school early, and he worked at the Bank of New South Wales until retirement.
Nonetheless, in the years to come he continued to paint, inspired by frequent voyages by paddle steamer across Port Phillip Bay to visit his mother's family, the Burrells of Arthur's Seat, the cattle run they purchased from the McCrae family in 1851. After his parents died, Twycross continued to journey to the Peninsula and to paint there.
The Photographer
edit
In 1918 he purchased a Thornton-Pickard Westminster quarter plate camera, and set about documenting his life both around Melbourne and on the Mornington Peninsula.
During his career as a banker based in the city of Melbourne he spent his weekends pursuing photography, often accompanied by his young son. He also photographed the workaday streets of Melbourne, spending his lunch hour capturing the energy of the young and growing city.
He was self-taught as a photographer and as a printer and learned from studying the early photographic journals that were imported from England.
His Vision
edit
Twycross practiced photography with a sense of purpose that alluded to intentions of capturing a rapidly changing period in time. This was especially true of old Arthur's Seat run, now known as the McCrae Homestead. He used the kitchen at his home in Elsternwick to process his work.
He photographed the Mornington Peninsula before it was populated, capturing the beaches, inlets, and swamps, in an area that has since then, vastly changed.
He never exhibited his work in public. He taught his young son how to use a camera and how to print in the pictorialist style.
Death
editHe died at his residence, "Emmarine", in Elsternwick, Victoria on 13 December 1936.[25]
Burrell Twycross Gallery
editAt McCrae Homestead, a National Trust Property, a permanent exhibit "Visions of Port Phillip" displays his work.[26] His photographs were first displayed in public at an exhibit by the National Trust of Australia at Tasma Terrace in 2005.[27]
Another major exhibition of his work "At first sight: Peninsula and bay photographs by J W Twycross 1918–1925" was displayed in March, 2012 at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery[28]
Collections
editSee also
editNotes
edit- ^ Deaths: Twycross, The Argus, (Friday, 10 May 1889), p.1.
- ^ Wills and Bequests, Table Talk, (Friday, 21 June 1889), p.4.
- ^ Marriages: Twycross—Burrell, The Argus, (Saturday, 12 February 1870), p.4.
- ^ Deaths: Twycross, The Age, (Friday 24 January 1908), p.1.
- ^ Births: Twycross, The Argus, (Saturday, 18 March 1871), p.4.
- ^ Births: Twycross, The Argus, (Saturday, 17 October 1874), p.1.
- ^ Marriages: McArthur—Twycross, The Argus, (Saturday, 27 November 1915), p.13.
- ^ Deaths: McArthur, The Argus, (Tuesday, 17 August 1943), p.2.
- ^ Deaths: Twycross, The Argus, (Thursday, 25 November 1954), p.14.
- ^ Note that, following the death of her husband, Charlotte Twycross relocated to 23 Seymour Road, Elsternwick -- then a vacant lot which she had purchased in 1888 -- where she erected "a timbered house with [a] slate roof [which she] also named "Emmarine" (Glen Eira City Council, 2019, p.5).
- ^ He appears on the first page of the Caulfield Grammar School Register as the third student registered (see photograph at Webber, 1981, p.17).
- ^ Webber (1981), p.318.
- ^ Caulfield Grammar School Athletic Sports, The Australasian, (Saturday, 16 December 1882), p.14.
- ^ Wilkinson (1997), p.19.
- ^ Caulfield Grammar School, The Australasian Supplement, (Saturday, 23 December 1882), p.8.
- ^ Caulfield Grammar School Sports, The Australasian, (Saturday, 20 October 1883), p.15.
- ^ Caulfield Grammar School, The Telegraph, (Saturday, 29 December 1883), p.6.
- ^ The Caulfield Grammar School, The Age, (Saturday, 20 December 1884), p.10.
- ^ Scholastic: School Speech Days, The Australasian, (Saturday, 26 December 1885), p.31.
- ^ Football: Caulfield Grammar School v. All Saints, The Argus, (Saturday, 13 August 1887), p.11.
- ^ Caulfield Grammar School, The Argus,(Thursday, 22 December 1887), p.4.
- ^ John Twycross and the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition with Charlotte Smith and Phillip Adams.
- ^ Sale of Property, The Age, (Wednesday, 16 October 1889), p.4.
- ^ Important Sale of Pictures, etc., The Herald, (Tuesday, 22 October 1889), p.4.
- ^ Deaths: Twycross, The Argus, (Monday, 14 December 1936), p1.
- ^ McCrae Homestead and Galleries
- ^ My Family: A Pictorialist’s View — J. W. Twycross, Tasma Gallery, 4 Parliament Place, East Melbourne. 1 August – 14 October
- ^ At first sight: Peninsula and bay photographs by J W Twycross 1918–1925 "MPRG Exhibitions". Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
References
edit- Digital Image - John Wilton Twycross looking through the Dolland Telescope at Arthur Seat, Mornington Peninsula, circa 1925, Museums Victoria.
- 60th Year Stories – Dr. Will Twycross, National Trust.
- Gravestone of John William Twycross and Frances Jane Twycross at the Dromana Cemetery, Australian Cemeteries.
- Smith, Charlotte & Thomas, Benjamin, Visions of Colonial Grandeur: John Twycross at Melbourne's International Exhibitions, Melbourne: Museum Victoria, 2014. ISBN 978-1-92-183323-6
- Stephens, Tony, "Grammar drop-out drove a Vauxhall - and ATM revolution: John Twycross, 1916-2008",The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday, 6 January 2009.
- Webber, Horace (1981). Years May Pass On... Caulfield Grammar School, 1881–1981. Centenary Committee, Caulfield Grammar School, (East St Kilda). ISBN 0-9594242-0-2.
- Wilkinson, Ian R. (1997). The Fields At Play – 115 years of sport at Caulfield Grammar School 1881–1996. Playright Publishing. ISBN 0-949853-60-7.
External links
edit- John Twycross Melbourne International Exhibitions Collection, collection of Museum Victoria (includes images of more than 110 items).