John Philemon Backhouse Britain, New Zealand, 1845-1908
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About John Philemon Backhouse
Born in England in 1845, John Philemon Backhouse moved to New Zealand by 1865 where he served in the armed constabulary. He painted in the thermal areas of New Zealand and created pencil, wash, and watercolour sketches of the Onehunga area and other parts of Auckland. He became a fulltime artist in the early 1890s and sketched scenes of New Zealand and visited Australia and many of his sketchbooks are in the Turnbull library. He also created studies of birds and insects. He is known for painting on shells and small boards. He died in 1908.
The total number of works by John Backhouse offered for sale by auction since 1977 is 105, of which 89 (85%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $9,376 for Maori Chief sold by International Art Centre in October 2006. This year one work has been offered for sale. Works by John Backhouse are held by the Museum Of New Zealand.
John Philemon Backhouse is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 10
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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