Edmund Edgar facts for kids

Edmund Bults (born 1804 – died 21 June 1854) was an artist from England. He was better known by his art name, Edmund Edgar. He was a painter, engraver, and lithographer. Edgar was sent to Australia as a convict to live in the British penal colony of New South Wales.

Life of an Artist

Edgar painted many portraits of people who used to be convicts, like Mary Ann Turner (shown here) in 1835.

Edmund Edgar was born in England in 1804. He worked in London as a house painter, engraver, and lithographer. In 1825, something happened that led to him being sent away. Because of his art skills and good connections, he was sent to New South Wales, Australia, for life. This was a place where people who had broken laws were sent to live and work.

Edgar arrived in Sydney on a ship called the Marquis of Huntly on September 13, 1826. Soon after, he was asked to work for a famous artist named Augustus Earle. Earle thought Edgar was very talented. Edgar helped Earle create Views in Australia, which were some of the first art prints made in the colony.

After working with Earle, many people wanted Edgar to work for them. He worked for John Carmichael, who was an engraver. He also taught drawing and handwriting at schools for John Gilcrist and Dr. Wilks. This shows how valued his artistic skills were.

In 1843, Edgar was given a "ticket of leave." This meant he had more freedom to work for himself. A year later, in 1844, he received a conditional pardon. From then on, he mostly painted small portraits called miniatures. Many of the people he painted were former convicts and their children.

Edgar opened an art studio in The Rocks area of Sydney. Not much is known about his last ten years. He passed away on June 21, 1854, at the Sydney Benevolent Asylum. Years later, one of his old students, Samuel Elyard, remembered Edgar as a kind person. He said Edgar was happy to share his art knowledge with anyone who loved art. Elyard believed Edgar could have become a very famous artist if he had kept working steadily.

Artworks by Edgar

• 

  Richard Fitzgerald, around 1838, National Portrait Gallery

• 

  Portrait of an Unidentified Man, 1842, State Library of New South Wales

See also

• List of convicts transported to Australia
• Australian art