Albert Edward Aldis was born in the London suburb of Kentish Town to Elijah Aldis, a native of Norfolk, and Elizabeth (nee Fendick). Aldis’s birth date is widely reported as 1870, however the correspondence of his wife, Olga, gives his birth date as 31 January 1865 (283-2, Grainger Museum). Aldis’s age as given in the 1871 and 1881 British Censuses agree with this date.
In April 1886 father and son embarked for New Zealand where they established a studio and art gallery in Auckland and began conducting art classes and exhibiting their own works for sale. During the following years Elijah took commissions as a portrait painter while his son set about establishing his own credentials as a landscape artist, traveling widely and painting prolifically. A portrait by Elijah and three of Albert’s paintings are held in the permanent collection of the Auckland City Art Gallery. Albert’s travels also brought him into contact with the Maori communities and stimulated what became more than just a passing interest in Maori culture.
When Elijah died in Auckland in July 1889, Albert moved to Melbourne. In the early 1890s he boarded with Rose and Percy Grainger at their Glenferrie home, 'Kilalla’, where he taught Percy drawing and introduced him to Maori chants and songs. Grainger credited him as an important early influence and the Grainger Museum (University of Melbourne) holds a number of his works.
Aldis enjoyed working in the open air and visited many of the same locations as the 'Heidelberg’ artists, though it is not known whether he had any personal association with them. He was associated with the Victorian Artists’ Society (VAS) and exhibited in their May 1892 winter 'Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings’. Soon after this exhibition he moved to Sydney where, as well as painting, he gave art lessons, played in an orchestra – he was an accomplished violinist – and worked as a teacher on a property in the country. Little else is known of his life in New South Wales at this time.
In 1896 Aldis returned to New Zealand where, following a short stay in Auckland, he moved north to the small town of Te Kopuru, where he again taught music and art. He also established a dance orchestra that worked around the district and continued to travel and paint in his spare time, selling what work he could. On 31 January 1900 he married Olga Margaret Herrich (b.1875), one of his students. They settled in Te Kopuru and Albert took employment as a storekeeper. Over the next six years four children were born. In 1902 Aldis came down with typhoid fever. His deteriorating health and increasing financial difficulties resulted in a move to Australia to join his brother William in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.
The family arrived in Katoomba in early 1907 and Aldis immediately began placing advertisements for art and music classes in the local newspaper. They remained in Katoomba for the next thirteen years, during which time three more children were born. As well as teaching, Aldis responded to the growing tourist market by specializing in Blue Mountains landscapes. His work, both water colour and oil, encompassed the wide vistas of the Jamison and Grose Valleys, along with more intimate studies of waterfalls and bush tracks. Olga took on the role of business manager, doing the rounds of the hotels and guesthouses seeking permission to display his paintings for guests to enjoy and purchase.
As a member of the Royal Art Society of NSW, he also exhibited at their annual exhibitions in Sydney. His Blue Mountains paintings have been dispersed widely, both throughout Australia and overseas, and his work appears regularly in art auction catalogues. Nevertheless, a few have remained in the local area and some in the possession of descendants.
During his time in Katoomba, Aldis also became increasingly interested in painting Australian native flora and his skills as a botanical artist gained wider recognition. He received a commission to paint a variety of botanical subjects for Sydney Teachers’ College and these (seventy-five items) are now held as part of the University of Sydney’s Art Collection. One of his botanical paintings, Cootamundra wattle, is held in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of NSW.
Music had always been important to Aldis. Besides teaching both the piano and violin, he conducted the Katoomba Orchestra for a number of years and, during World War I, performed at many fundraising concerts. His children were taught to play several instruments and for a time formed a family orchestra, while his eldest daughter Gwyn went on to study at the NSW Conservatorium and made a career as a professional musician.
By 1921 most of his children had finished school and were seeking work opportunities not available in Katoomba. Aldis’s health was also fragile and showing signs of further deterioration and the decision was made to move to the seaside suburb of Manly. Though his health did not improve, he continued to work, exploring and painting the flora and coastal landscapes of his new environment. At Christmas, after a day sketching on the rocks near Fairy Bower, Aldis collapsed and was taken to the Manly Cottage Hospital. He never recovered and died on 26 December 1921.
In May 1994 descendants planted a cherry tree in his memory in the grounds of the Blue Mountains Historical Society’s property at Wentworth Falls.
- Writers:
- Low, John
- Date written:
- 2009
- Last updated:
- 2011
