John William Lindt Australia, 1845-1926

John William Lindt (1845 - 1926) was a German-born Australian landscape and ethnographic photographer, early photojournalist, and portraitist. He is best known for his photographs of Australia and New Guinea in the late 19th century. Lindt was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on New Year's Day 1845. He came to Australia in 1862, aged 17, and worked as a piano tuner and repairer. In 1867, he became a photographic assistant to Conrad Wagner in Grafton, New South Wales. He married Wagner's daughter, Anna, in 1872 and took over management of the studio in 1869. In 1873, Lindt moved to Sydney and opened his own studio. He quickly became one of the most successful photographers in the colony, specializing in landscape and ethnographic photography. He was also a pioneer of photojournalism, and his photographs were often published in newspapers and magazines. In 1885, Lindt joined an expedition to New Guinea, where he took some of the earliest photographs of the island. His photographs of New Guinea were widely acclaimed, and they helped to raise awareness of the island's people and cultures. Lindt continued to work as a photographer until his death in 1926. He is considered one of the most important photographers of Australia in the 19th century.

The total number of works by John Lindt offered for sale by auction since 1989 is 42, of which 33 (79%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $93,600 for Picturesque New Guinea (1885) sold by Sotheby's in October 2012. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2022. Works by John Lindt are held by the National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Australia and a further four major public national galleries (see list below).