Thomas W. Rider

Also known as T. W. Rider, T. W. R., Thomas Rider, I. W. R.
  • Artist (Draughtsman),
  • Artist (Printmaker),
  • Artist (Painter)
Thomas W. Rider, painter and engraver, worked in Sydney during the late 1840s. He is best known for his illustrations in Heads of the People (1847-1848), a publication for which he was the resident artist. Rider was described as 'a fine specimen of the artistical species in Sydney ... a person of gentlemanly habits and appearance.'

painter and engraver, worked at Sydney in the late 1840s. He is best known for his illustrations in Heads of the People (1847-1848), a publication for which he was the resident artist. His portrait as The Artist , probably by William Nicholas , appeared in the issue for 28 August 1847, where he was described as 'a fine specimen of the artistical species in Sydney … a person of gentlemanly habits and appearance. His skill is unquestionable, as his sketches embellish our own distinguished pages’. A later issue referred both to his drawing and engraving:

Our thanks are due to Mr Rider for his spirited designs, as well as for the wood and copperplate Engravings which grace the work. He presents a testimony of what may be effected by ability linked with perseverance; for although a self-taught Engraver, both on Copper and Wood, he may fairly rank himself amongst the highest followers of these arts in Australia.

He drew, engraved and initialled a portrait of King Boomerang, Chief of Dungog NSW . Many other illustrations for the paper are unsigned, but one attributed to him by the National Library is The Critic and the Stage Box .

Rider’s watercolours of Billy Emue of Lake Macquarie and Kitty Jones, Lake Macquarie were lent by William Baker , proprietor of Heads of the People , to the first Exhibition of the Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Australia held at Sydney in 1847. The Sydney Morning Herald described them as 'portraits of two blackfellows – characteristic in features, but rather hard in outline’. Baker’s Twelve Profile Portraits of Aborigines, initialled T. (or I.) W.R., are also by Rider. Extant original works include two watercolour views of the Honourable East India Company’s Depot at Bungarabbee [sic], New South Wales (c.1847, Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW), Rider being one of the artists involved in the East India Company’s commission of the late 1840s to make a collection of paintings of NSW for their Calcutta head office. An unsigned watercolour sketch of An Abattoir (Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW) is attributed to him on an attached label in an unknown hand.

Although no Tasmanian connection is known, the National Library attributes two unsigned pastel portraits on linen of Tasmanian Aborigines (with extremely European bodies and poses and mainland Aboriginal features and hairstyles) to T.W. Rider, e.g. '[Portrait of a native Tasmanian woman]’, 66.5 × 53.5 cm. On the other hand, the copperplate engraver 'Thomas Rider’ listed in the South Australian Directory for 1851 was possibly the same man.

ADDITIONAL (ABRIDGED) MATERIAL FROM JOAN KERR’S BLACK AND WHITE FILES:

illustrator, caricaturist, cartoonist and engraver, drew and engraved for Heads of the People (Sydney, 1847-48), notably the title page-cover with a self-portrait and a portrait of the proprietor William Kellett Baker on either side of a central grotesque figure. The Critic and the Stage Box (unsigned) is attributed to Rider by the NLA and is presumably from the same publication, where Rider was the resident artist. His woodcut portrait as 'The Artist’ appeared in Heads of the People on 28 August 1847, drawn by William Nicholas. 'King Boomerang, Chief of Dungog NSW’, from Twelve Profile Portraits of Aborigines, is initialled “T. (or I.?) W. R.”

Writers:
Staff Writer
Kerr, Joan Note: Additional information.
Date written:
1992
Last updated:
1989