ornamental painter and decorator, was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. It is not certain when he arrived in Melbourne, but he seems to have been the 'Mr Croft’ who painted a transparency for the Albion Hotel in Bourke Street for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Melbourne visit in November 1867. The Argus , describing this in detail, noted that it covered the greater portion of the upper storey of the hotel. It showed an allegorical figure of the colony of Victoria welcoming Prince Alfred, who was descending from Neptune’s car on to a carpet spread at his feet by an Aborigine. The Galatea could be seen in the distance, although 'the car of the marine deity’ covered half the canvas.
Craft died on 23 September 1875 and was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery, his wife Sarah being buried in the same plot. On 29 September the Age reported that 'a few friends of the late Mr John Craft, decorative artist, met that night at the Trades Hall and decided upon appointing several gentlemen…to erect a monument to the memory of the deceased’. The resulting headstone has carved on it an artist’s palette with a flower drooping over it. The cemetery register gives Craft’s occupation as 'ornamental painter’ (i.e. painter of designs and murals on walls of houses and public buildings), one of the two professions then commonly symbolised by the oil painter’s palette, the other being that of scene-painter ( see W. Burbury and E. Winstanley ).
- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2011
